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Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Burberry: North Korea Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that North Korean workers are producing garments for Burberry Group Inc. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We have made no such assessment. The Modern Slavery Act, enacted last year, includes a demanding transparency in supply chains disclosure provision. This provision requires businesses operating in the UK, with an annual turnover of more than £36 million, to produce a slavery and human trafficking statement setting out the steps they have taken during the financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any of its supply chains or its own business. The provision obliges eligible companies to publish this information on their website, with a conspicuous link from their homepage, so that consumers, investors and the general public know what steps businesses are taking in this regard. Students: Loans Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on graduates of freezing the income level at which student loans become repayable, and what estimate they have made of the number of students who would be rendered liable if that level were frozen. Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: The impact of freezing the repayment threshold for 5 years was described in the government’s consultation document, which was published in July 2015.https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/freezing-the-student-loan-repayment-threshold Those who earn above the £21,000 threshold can expect to repay nearly £6 extra per week by 2021 (in 2021 prices), or around £306 per year. We expect that an additional 9% of graduates will start to repay as a result of the threshold freeze. This equates to 190,000 of the 2.1 million Plan 2 graduates expected to be in repayment by 2020/21. The £21,000 threshold remains higher in real terms than that applicable to student loans taken out before 2012. student-loan-repayment-threshold-consultation (PDF Document, 468.12 KB) Overseas Students: India Lord Teverson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take to increase international student numbers from India, in the light of the publication of Indian Student Mobility Report 2016 by M M Advisory Services. which points out that, despite the high growth in overseas students from India, the number of students coming to the UK has declined steeply in recent years and is likely to be overtaken by Germany. Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: We welcome international students from all countries to study at our world-class universities. There is no cap on the number that can come here and the UK remains the second most popular destination for international students.The Government is working closely with India to strengthen education ties with the UK. In November 2015, the Indian and UK Prime Ministers’ jointly announced the ‘2016 UK-India Year of Education, Research and Innovation’ and the following month my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Minister of State for Universities and Science led a delegation to India, accompanied by 28 vice-chancellors and college leaders to increase sector-to-sector partnerships.We are funding major bilateral agreements, including: the UK India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI) which supports partnerships in education and research; the Newton-Bhabha Fund, bringing together science and innovation partners to tackle economic development challenges; and supporting the Generation UK-India programme which is increasing the number of UK students taking placements in India. We are also promoting recruitment to the UK through the Britain is GREAT marketing campaign. British Home Stores: Insolvency Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the report of the Insolvency Service into the collapse of BHS. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: It would not be appropriate for details of the ongoing investigation to be made public as that may prejudice the outcome of any criminal or civil cases which arise from it. If any directors are disqualified the Insolvency Service will publish the details of the disqualification on its website (for three months) and will notify Companies House, which keeps the statutory register of disqualifications. In addition, where the investigation uncovers matters of potential criminal misconduct or other regulatory breaches then this will be reported to the relevant authority for further action. Once the investigation is completed the Government will consider what detail it is appropriate to publish having full regard to any legal restrictions on publication, and also the legitimate public interest in the cause of the BHS failure. Comet Group: Insolvency Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the current situation facing the UK's retail industry, they will reconsider their decision not to publish the report by the Insolvency Service into the collapse of Comet Group plc. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Insolvency Service’s fact-finding inquiry into Comet was conducted under Section 447 of the Companies Act 1985. Section 449 of that Act makes it a criminal offence to share any information gathered in the course of the investigation with any person, other than in the strictly prescribed circumstances laid out in the Act. In the light of this legal position I am unable to reconsider the request to publish the report. UK Trade with EU Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the value of (1) imports, and (2) exports, from other EU member states to each local authority area in the UK. Lord Price: Regional trade statistics at the local authority level are not available. Trade statistics showing the value of trade in goods between UK regions/countries (NUTS 1 level) and EU member states are available from the HM Revenue and Customs’ Regional Trade Statistics database. Subsidiary Companies Baroness Kramer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK companies are subsidiaries of another company that is registered (1) within the EU, or (2) in the rest of the world; and what estimate they have made of the total value of those UK companies. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Companies House’s role is to hold the register of UK companies and make the information available to the public. Its role is not to provide detailed analysis on companies. Providing an accurate figure on the number and value of UK companies that are subsidiaries of other non-UK companies would breach the disproportionate cost threshold given the volume and complexity of the information within the dataset. North East Surrey College of Technology Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards and governance arrangements have been put in place to prevent a recurrence of the situation where (1) the Principal of North East Surrey College of Technology allegedly paid her husband over £170,000 during the course of a contract with a Saudi Arabian college, and (2) the Board of Governors were unaware for over 18 months that such payments were made. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: As an independent corporation North East Surrey College of Technology is responsible for ensuring appropriate safeguards and governance arrangements are in place in relation to the corporation including subsidiary companies. The Skills Funding Agency has received a report from NESCOT and is considering whether there is any risk to public funds and if so what action should be taken. Tickets: Sales Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the advice by Europe Direct that providing unique reference numbers on tickets by primary and secondary market ticket sellers is not regulated under the Consumer Rights Directive, and is therefore permitted. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government has not made an assessment of advice by Europe Direct on this issue. Department for Education Dean Trust Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take about the reported proposal by Dean Trust to educate children with special educational needs and disability who have been admitted to one of its schools at another of its schools six miles away. Lord Nash: Local authorities are responsible for drawing up Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and are responsible for making sure the special educational provision set out in them is delivered, including admission to the named school. Once named in a final EHCP, a school is obliged to admit the child or young person. Should a school fail to meet this duty the Department can direct them to do so.We are aware of concerns raised by parents and others about The Dean Trust’s proposal that pupils due for admission in September 2016 who have an EHCP which names Ashton on Mersey School should be educated at Broadoak School. We are determined to support the parties to satisfactorily resolve the situation regarding the currently affected pupils as well as in the longer term, and ensuring that the legal rights of families are enforced. For that reason officials will be meeting with the authority and trust on 20 June. Our priority is ensuring that the transition from primary to secondary school for pupils is as smooth as possible.We are also determined to ensure that all schools are mindful of their responsibilities towards their pupils and act in accordance with the Children and Families Act 2014 and the statutory Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice in ensuring the best possible outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs. All schools should also act in line with their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010, which in part 6 states that the responsible body of a school must not discriminate against a child or young person: in the arrangements it makes for deciding who is offered admission; the terms on which admission is offered; nor, by not admitting. Haberdashers' Aske's Federation Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action, if any, they have taken during the last 12 months in relation to the fraud allegations at the Haberdashers' Aske's Federation academy chain. Lord Nash: During the last 12 months, the fraud allegations at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation academy trust chain have been reviewed as a criminal investigation since first reported to the police in October 2012 by this multi-academy trust. The criminal case against the perpetrator of the fraud began week commencing 6 June at Woolwich Crown Court. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) has engaged with the Trust from the outset and immediately requested that the Trust assess financial systems and risks. The Trust carried out an independent and thorough review of its internal control procedures and reported on this to the EFA. The Trust has taken all the appropriate action since the issue was first identified and the remaining key actions now rest with the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service. Academies and free schools face tighter financial scrutiny than local authority maintained schools. They must publish annual, independently-audited accounts, of which there is no equivalent requirement on maintained schools. We take swift action whenever we identify financial irregularities. Young People: Churches Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to require Ofsted inspectors to judge whether the work of mainstream Christian churches with young people, either directly or through approved Christian organisations which specialise in working with young people, in activities such as holiday Bible clubs, church weekends, and summer camps, is in accordance with a "British Values" test; and if so, when such plans would be introduced. Lord Nash: The Government is committed to safeguarding all children and protecting them from the risk of harm and extremism, including in out-of-school settings. The Prime Minister announced plans to introduce a new system of oversight for out-of-school education settings – such as supplementary schools and tuition centres – which teach children intensively, on 7 October 2015. These were confirmed in the Government’s Counter-Extremism Strategy which was published on 19 October. These plans to regulate out-of-school settings which teach children intensively were set out in the call for evidence which ran for 6 and a half weeks between 26 November and 11 January. We are not proposing to regulate settings teaching children for a short period every week, such as Sunday schools or the Scouts, or one-off residential activities, such as a week-long summer camp. We are looking specifically at settings providing intensive education outside school where children could be spending more than six hours a week. The call for evidence sought views on the appropriateness of seeking to prohibit teaching which undermines or is incompatible with fundamental British values. Now that the call for evidence has closed, we are considering carefully the responses received as we develop the proposals further.We will be publishing our response to the call for evidence and setting out the next steps on the proposals in due course. The Lord Chairman of Committees Opening of Parliament Lord Jopling: To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 6 June (HL91), what, if any, is the specification for ermine robes with regard to the materials used, and whether there would be any impediment to clothiers, such as those in the Far East, providing robes for peers either for purchase or for hire. Lord Laming: As set out in the Standing Orders of the House of Lords Relating to Public Business: “When Her Majesty comes publicly to the House, the Lords shall be attired in their robes or in such other dress as may be approved by Her Majesty”. A proposal for robes other than those presently used would be considered by the appropriate authority. Department for Work and Pensions Occupational Pensions Baroness Burt of Solihull: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many companies list separate pension schemes for senior management in addition to their primary employee pension scheme. Baroness Altmann: The information requested is not collated centrally either by DWP or TPR and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Home Office Scout Association: Vetting Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the number of children waiting to join the Scout movement, what plans they have, if any, to review the procedures for repeat Disclosure and Barring Service checks of volunteers. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government has introduced an Update Service to enable existing criminal record certificates to be kept up to date whilst reducing the need for repeat checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The DBS is driving greater uptake of the Update Service which will continue to reduce the need for repeat checks, whilst continuing to safeguard children. The Update Service and criminal records certificates are provided free of charge to volunteers. It is for the Scout Association to determine when criminal records checks should be undertaken and whether to enable volunteers to make use of the Update Service. HM Treasury Embassies: Home Country Nationals Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 12 May (HL8031), what percentage of diplomatic missions in the UK issued with the annual letters on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office requesting staff lists with details of all locally engaged staff and private servants replied with full information in 2015. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Embassy team issued 279 letters to the various Embassies and their different sections requesting staff lists for the 2014-15 tax year in September 2015. The requests also ask for details of private addresses and Remuneration. As a result of that letter we received 24 responses. That is an 8% return. Article 10 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) outlines a mission’s responsibility to keep the host State informed of the arrival and departure of staff. Embassies therefore only have a legal obligation to notify HM Government of their leavers and new starters so we rely greatly on the goodwill of Embassies to supply us with this additional information. Embassies: Home Country Nationals Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 12 May (HL8031), how many times in (1) 2014, and (2) 2015, HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC) specialist embassy team carried out risk assessment activities and identified individuals who had not notified their employment to HMRC, and subsequently took action to ensure they paid the tax that was due. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Embassy team in 2014 and 2015 didn’t undertake any specific risk assessment activities with regards to individuals who had not notified their employment. However the team arranged for one of our Central Compliance Teams to undertake a project to review the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) position of various embassies employees using our Risk Profiling system. We reviewed 697 cases and opened checks into 258 of these. Of these 150 were found to be compliant. The checks covered the tax years 2009/10 to 2014/15. In the current year we are expecting to open further checks in relation to both tax and NICs on a number of employees. London Stock Exchange: Deutsche Borse Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the financial regulators have completed their review of the risk algorithms to be used to permit cross-margining by central counterparties to facilitate the takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Borse; whether the results of this review will be published, and whether any further steps will be taken to strengthen confidence in central clearing houses. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The timings of regulatory reviews of any proposal by a CCP to make significant changes to its margining arrangements would be a matter for the company and regulators acting in accordance with the relevant legislation. The Bank of England's 2016 Annual Report on the supervision of financial market infrastructures, laid before Parliament on 4 March 2016, provides further information about ongoing regulatory initiatives in relation to CCPs. Insurance Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what level of engagement they have had with the insurance industry about reducing costs to consumers. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website Insurance Companies: Complaints Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the number of customer complaints regarding insurance companies in the current financial year is above or below average. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The issues raised are a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who are operationally independent from Government. The questions have been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the Noble lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House. Cabinet Office Civil Servants Lord Norton of Louth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps have been taken by the Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office to ensure that the Cabinet Office is compliant with section 3(6) of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Lord Bridges of Headley: The requirement of section 3(6) of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act is set out in the Civil Service Code, which forms part of the contract of employment for all civil servants.In the 2015 staff survey, 94% of Cabinet Office staff responded positively to a question about awareness of the Civil Service Code. Civil Servants: Training Lord Norton of Louth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many civil servants in the Cabinet Office have taken either or both of the e-learning courses "Induction: An Introduction to Parliament" and "Parliamentary processes" offered by Civil Service Learning. Lord Bridges of Headley: Since its introduction in 2015, 80 Civil Servants in the Cabinet Office have taken the “Induction: An Introduction to Parliament” e-learning course offered by Civil Service Learning.Since its introduction in 2012, 260 Civil Servants in the Cabinet Office have taken the “Parliamentary Processes” e-learning course.Of these, 20 Cabinet Office Civil Servants have taken both courses. Department of Health Fluoride: Drinking Water Earl Baldwin of Bewdley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 17 November 2015 (HL3315), why the Executive Summary of the report by Public Health England Water fluoridation: Health monitoring report for England 2014 concludes that "The report provides further reassurance that water fluoridation is a safe and effective public health measure", when the Limitations section of the report states that "there was potential for considerable misclassification of exposure status" and the Conclusion section states that "the population-based, observational design does not allow conclusions to be drawn regarding any causative or protective role of fluoride". Lord Prior of Brampton: The Public Health England report, Water Fluoridation: Health Monitoring Report for England 2014 was, of necessity, an ecological study. An ecological design is appropriate for monitoring health outcomes in fluoridated and non-fluoridated populations. All academic research has limitations. In designing and conducting research consideration must be taken regarding timescales for publication and cost to the public purse. Stating the limitations of the study within the body of a paper is considered good scientific practice. The report discusses the limitations of this study design, including the potential for mis-classification of fluoride exposure status, using an ecological level of measurement with regard to water fluoridation rather than individual fluoride intake. The report’s findings, however, concur with those of numerous authoritative reviews of water fluoridation that finds levels of tooth decay are lower in fluoridated areas and that there is no convincing evidence that water fluoridation causes adverse health effects. For these reasons the author’s conclusion "The report provides further reassurance that water fluoridation is a safe and effective public health measure" is appropriate. With over 70 years’ experience of water fluoridation internationally and over 50 years’ experience in the United Kingdom, there has been no convincing scientific evidence to indicate that water fluoridation has caused harm to health. Wheelchairs Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to make Personal Health Budgets available for the provision of wheelchairs; what arrangements they plan to put in place for wheelchair users; and whether the funding stream will be managed centrally and independently from local wheelchair service budgets. Lord Prior of Brampton: In May 2016, Simon Stevens announced that NHS England would be developing a personal health budgets model for the provision of wheelchairs. This work is in the early stages of development. The intention is to introduce personal wheelchair budgets from April 2017, to cover everyone who accesses the current wheelchair voucher scheme. This includes those with both low level and complex wheelchair requirements. Personal health budgets are not about new money but about using existing budgets differently. Therefore the budget will continue to be held at a local level. NHS England is working with a number of clinical commissioning group clusters to develop guidance on the delivery model. This work will cover care planning, information support and advice for wheelchair users, budget setting (using learning from the development of the Wheelchair Tariff where appropriate) and review. The guidance will be available in advance of the start of roll out in April 2017. Wheelchairs Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to ensure that NHS England works closely with the Wheelchair Leadership Alliance to produce a positive outcome for the future arrangements for wheelchair users through Wheelchair Services; and what resources will be made available for that process to be completed. Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support has been offered to the Wheelchair Leadership Alliance in addition to the support given over the Right Chair, Right Time, Right Now campaign and charter. Lord Prior of Brampton: The Minister for Community and Social Care (Alistair Burt), together with the Minister for Disabled People (Justin Tomlinson) recently met with Baroness Grey-Thompson, Chair of the Wheelchair Leadership Alliance, and NHS England to discuss what action could be taken to improve wheelchair services. This includes NHS England discussing the focus and content of a model service specification for wheelchairs with the Alliance. NHS England made available a further £10,000 to the Wheelchair Leadership Alliance for support during 2015/16. HIV Infection Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the life-time cost of providing medication and care for an individual diagnosed with HIV at the age of 35. Lord Prior of Brampton: This information is not available as data is not held on the differential cost of patients based on their disease severity or age. In 2014/15, NHS England provided over £553 million of funding for the care and treatment of around 78,000 diagnosed HIV patients. HIV Infection Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they have spent on combating HIV stigma in each of the last five years. Lord Prior of Brampton: Combatting HIV stigma is integral to much of the work carried out to tackle HIV and part of our National HIV and Sexual Health Promotion programme is to reduce stigma by working with the communities most affected by HIV. Over the last two years, Public Health England provided support for the People Living with HIV Stigma Survey, a collaborative cross sector community led initiative to capture the feelings and experiences of living with HIV in a variety of settings. Spending on stigma is not identified separately within the National HIV and Sexual Health Promotion programme and related work. The National Health Service, local authorities, Government, community and faith groups, the media and individuals all have a part to play in eliminating HIV-related stigma. Vaccination Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total combined overall spending on vaccines procurement and administration (1) nationally, and (2) locally, including awareness campaigns, in each year from 2012–13 to the current financial year. Lord Prior of Brampton: Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England were formed on 1 April 2013, therefore spend information can only be provided from 2013/2014 financial year onwards. Total combined spend for 2015/16 is not yet available.Overall spend on procurement and the administration of vaccines, including communications spend for campaigns, is split between PHE and NHS England. The total combined overall spend can only be provided at a national level. Local level information is not readily available. Spend information is provided in the following table. Approximate combined vaccine procurement and vaccine administration spend for England Financial Year2013/20142014/2015Vaccine procurement and vaccine administration spend (£ million)578616 Vaccination Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the final report of the Cost Effectiveness Methodology for Immunisation Programmes and Procurements working group to be published, and whether its recommendations will be subject to public consultation. Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk that changes to the cost effectiveness threshold for vaccines as proposed by the Cost Effectiveness Methodology for Immunisation Programmes and Procurements working group would lead to England being restricted from paying for some new vaccines when compared to other health economies in Europe, and people in the UK receiving fewer innovative vaccines. Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government expects to receive the Cost Effectiveness Methodology for Immunisation Programmes and Procurement report shortly and will consider its recommendations once received. Until then, it would not be appropriate to speculate on possible recommendations or the impact they might have. We are committed to publishing their report. We will decide when to publish, and whether to consult, once we have had time to consider the report. Defibrillators Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on providing defibrillators in public places and schools. Lord Prior of Brampton: We recognise that better provision of defibrillators and increasing the number of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation could help save more lives of those who have a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting. That is why the Chancellor announced in the budget in March 2016 that the Government is making available another £1 million to make public access defibrillators and coronary pulmonary resuscitation training more widely available in communities across England. This builds on last year’s funding of £1 million, which provided almost 700 more publicly accessible defibrillators in communities across England and increased the numbers of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Details on how this second tranche of the funding can be accessed will be available in due course. The Department for Education (DfE) is encouraging schools to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) as part of their first aid equipment and in November 2014 announced new arrangements to allow schools to purchase AEDs at a competitive price. This is the result of a unique agreement between the DfE and the Department of Health in which devices are bought in bulk and the savings of around 50% are passed on to schools. Since the launch of this policy, 1,389 defibrillators have been provided to schools. To help schools in considering whether to purchase a defibrillator, DfE has published advice on installing and maintaining AEDs on school premises. This has been developed drawing on the expertise of National Health Service ambulance services and voluntary and community sector organisations. Dairy Products Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the opinion paper by the National Obesity Forum and the Public Health Collaboration Eat Fat, Cut the Carbs and Avoid Snacking to Reverse Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, whether they plan to revise NHS and Public Health England campaigns that discourage the consumption of dairy products, including full-fat milk, butter, cream and cheese. Lord Prior of Brampton: Public Health England does not plan to revise its campaigns and dietary advice in light of the recent opinion paper published by the National Obesity Forum and the Public Health Collaboration. Government advice continues to encourage consumption of dairy products as part of a healthy, balanced diet in line with the Eatwell Guide; advising people to choose lower fat varieties of milk and dairy products where possible, due to the evidence that high intakes of saturated fat are associated with raised blood cholesterol and cardiovascular risk. Fats Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to (1) review the long-standing advice by the Department of Health against eating fatty foods, and (2) publish revised advice. Lord Prior of Brampton: Government advice is that people should base meals on starchy carbohydrates, especially wholegrain; eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day; and cut back on food and drinks high in saturated fat, salt, sugar and calories. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is currently reviewing evidence on saturated fat and health. A draft report is planned for public consultation at the end of 2017. Current advice will remain in place until the SACN has completed its review. Female Genital Mutilation Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many midwives have been trained in identifying female genital mutilation (FGM) and in the new mandatory FGM reporting duties, and what percentage of midwives that represents. Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department does not hold information on the numbers of midwives who have been trained in identifying female genital mutilation (FGM) or the mandatory reporting duty to report FGM. Content on tackling FGM is included within the Level 3 Safeguarding training curriculum, published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health on behalf of an inter-collegiate group, which all midwives are required to undertake. Many organisations also deliver additional training, the content of which is decided locally. Last year the Department commissioned Health Education England to develop a range of FGM e-learning sessions available free of charge to National Health Service staff. As of 17 February almost 16,000 modules had been completed. As part of the Department’s FGM Prevention Programme, a package of FGM awareness materials was sent to all hospitals and general practitioner practices in February 2016. In addition, we have developed a flyer insert about the FGM mandatory reporting duty which will be included in the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) magazine, sent to approximately 45,000 RCM members.

uk-hansard-lords-written-answers

lordswrans2016-06-15

Department for Communities and Local Government Religious Hatred: Islam Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and if so when, they intend to instigate an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in politics at all levels. Baroness Williams of Trafford: Everyone in Britain has the right to feel safe and at ease in the place where they live. There is no place for hatred against people because of their race, gender, ethnic origin, faith, sexual orientation, age or disability. This includes anti-Muslim attacks which are unacceptable in Britain.The Government is already taking a number of steps to counter Islamaphobia and does not intend to carry out an independent inquiry. We fund Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) to encourage reporting of these crimes and to support victims. We have also set up the first cross Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group to raise awareness of Islamaphobic attacks. In addition, the police began to disaggregate hate crime by religion in April 2016. This will help the police to build community trust, target their resources and enable the public to hold them to account. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Institute for Apprenticeships Lord Aberdare: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Institute for Apprenticeships will take over any of the functions carried out by Ofsted, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education or Ofqual, such as the inspection of apprenticeship provision or the regulation of qualifications, and if so, which. Lord Aberdare: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role the new Institute for Apprenticeships will have in regulating the quality of apprenticeships, and what powers it will have to undertake that role. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The role of the Institute for Apprenticeships will be to ensure the quality of apprenticeship standards. Apprenticeships will only attract funding from government or the levy if they are against an approved standard or framework. Each standard will contain a plan for how the apprenticeship will be assessed. Although this will be approved by the Institute, the Institute will not assess the apprenticeship training itself: the register of training providers is owned by the Skills Funding Agency and Ofsted will continue to inspect providers.The Institute will, however, need to ensure there is consistency between the levels of assessment being applied, as part of its role in approving standards and assessment plans. Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Lord Jopling: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Price on 10 May (HL8062), whether that answer assumes that the United States Congress will accept a "fast-track" procedure for ratifying the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood of such a procedure being either endorsed or withdrawn by the new Congress in 2017. Lord Price: Legislation to re-authorise Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) – sometimes called “fast track” – the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, was signed into law by President Obama on 29 June 2015. It will apply to certain international trade agreements – including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – if agreement is reached before 1 July 2018. Apprentices: Females Baroness Nye: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish the completion rates for apprentices across all apprenticeship frameworks and standards, disaggregated by gender, in the light of the recent report by the Young Women's Trust suggesting that female apprentices in male dominated sectors such as engineering, IT and construction are less likely to complete their apprenticeship. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Apprenticeship achievement rates disaggregated by framework and gender are published on the GOV.UK website by the Skills Funding Agency in the National Achievement Rate Tables (formerly National Success Rate Tables). The dataset is too large to attach to this response but is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sfa-national-achievement-rates-tables-2014-to-2015 However, table 1 shows overall achievement rates by gender in 2014/15. Table 1: Apprenticeship Overall Achievement Rates by Gender, 2014/15 Overall CohortOverall Achievement Rate % Female192,31071.7 Male170,95071.7 Small Businesses: Billing Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Australian model for payment disputes could help small UK suppliers. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: In establishing the UK Small Business Commissioner through the Enterprise Act 2016, the Government has taken inspiration from the Australian Small Business Commissioner (now the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman) and Small Business Commissioners at state level in Australia. These bodies provide advice and access to alternative dispute resolution to small businesses involved in a variety of disputes, which may include some payment disputes. The UK Small Business Commissioner will focus on payment disputes between small and larger businesses and encourage a change in how businesses deal with each other – a long lasting cultural change to promote fair treatment for all. He or she will act as a disincentive to unfavourable payment practices, and build the confidence and capabilities of small businesses to help them to assert themselves in contractual disputes and negotiate more effectively. The Commissioner will provide general information and advice, direct small businesses to existing dispute resolution services (eg, mediation services and ombudsmen) and handle complaints from small businesses about payment issues UK Trade with EU Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the proportions, by value, of British exports of goods to EU member states invoiced in (1) sterling, (2) US dollars, and (3) euro, in 2015. Lord Price: The data requested is not available. HM Revenue and Customs collects data on the currency of invoice for trade with non-EU countries but businesses are not required to declare the currency of invoicing for trade with EU member states. Research Councils Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Strategic Advisory Group for the Research Councils will be established, what will be its membership, and what are its terms of reference. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government encourages Research Councils to work closely with other Research Councils and their communities. With regards to the Global Challenges Research Fund, Research Councils are establishing an advisory group - as they do with other areas of research. Details of the group can be found on the Research Councils UK website: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/media/news/160526/. Advisory group announcement (PDF Document, 276.69 KB) Ministry of Defence European Union: Army Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the UK is committed to joining an EU army if one is formed and we are invited to do so. Earl Howe: The Prime Minister has been clear that the UK will never be part of a European Army. We have consistently said that we will oppose any measures which would undermine member states' competence for their own military forces, or lead to competition and duplication with NATO, which is the cornerstone of our defence. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Sheep Dipping The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the group led by Tom Rigby can expect a response to their question about the advice that was received by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from the Health and Safety Executive and the National Poisons Unit immediately prior to the end of compulsory dipping following the Revocation Order of 4 June 1992. Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Defra officials have been investigating this issue since the meeting with the Sheep Dip Sufferers Group in November and sent information to Tom Rigby on 26 May. The information follows up the actions from the meeting and includes news releases from MAFF and the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) from 1992 and 1993. These explain why the decision was taken to end compulsory dipping, and the conclusions of the VPC reviews of organophosphate sheep dips at the time. A note of agreed actions from the meeting was also provided. Lead Ammunition Group Baroness Parminter: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 15 December 2015 (HL4104), when they intend to make public the report of the Lead Ammunition Group, which was submitted on 3 June 2015, and their response. Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government is still in the process of considering the report’s findings and recommendations and will respond to it as soon as possible. Home Office Deportation: Algeria Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what, if any, extra security measures are being implemented, and at what cost, following the decision by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission to refuse the Home Office the right to deport six individuals, allegedly linked to al-Qaeda, to Algeria. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We do not comment on security matters. However national security remains our primary consideration and we have taken, and will continue to take, all necessary measures to protect our national security. Police: International Organisations Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they co-operate with police authorities to promote service by police personnel with the UN and other international bodies. Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential value in career development of service by police on international deployments. Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements they have in place to publish the details of police, law enforcement specialists and other relevant civilian experts in service in UN operations and at the UN Headquarters. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The National Police Chiefs’ Council has established the new Joint International Policing Hub to triage requests for international police assistance through a single point. The Hub joins up the police at a national level and with Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is intended to promote the UK model of policing by consent. Decisions on who to recommend to deploy, and where, lies with Chief Constables, in conjunction with their Police and Crime Commissioners.As the first professional body for all of policing in England and Wales, the College of Policing develops standards and guidance for policing. The College is considering flexibility and the structure of entry, exit and re-entry of officers. It is also considering routes for officers to gain external experience, such as secondments, as part of the Leadership Review.The Government has no plans to publish the details of police, law enforcement specialists and other relevant civilian experts in service in UN operations and at the UN Headquarters. Any personnel deployed as part of a national contingent are listed on the UN website: http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2016/apr16_4.pdf European Gendarmerie Force Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the operations of the European Gendarmerie Force. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The European Gendarmerie Force is not a European Union force. It has its own separate treaty between the countries that participate, which does not include the UK, and is not part of the European Union framework. The Government notes the work of the European Gendarmerie Force, but has no plans to pursue membership. Department for Energy and Climate Change Civil Nuclear Constabulary Baroness Featherstone: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was spent on the civil nuclear police force last year, and what is the budgeted expenditure on the force for each of the next four years. Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Civil Nuclear Constabulary is mostly funded by industry through arrangements for it to charge nuclear sites for provision of service to those sites, as set out in the Energy Act 2004.The table below set out how much was spent on the force last year, via this mechanism:2015/16Revenue Expenditure£100.2mCapital Expenditure£3.9mTotal£104.1m The budgeted expenditure for future years is set out in the Civil Nuclear Police Authority’s Strategy and Business Plan 2016-2019 (copy attached).Figures for 2019/20 are not provided because this is not yet forecast, given the current extent of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority’s business planning.Some costs that are not for provision of service to nuclear sites cannot be charged to industry, and are covered by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. In 2015/16 that amount was £213,000. It is difficult to predict in advance which costs might not be rechargeable, therefore we do not have a forecast for costs for future years. Similar information was provided in January 2016 in response to a House of Commons named day parliamentary question (reference: 22582), which asked what expenditure has been allocated to the Civil Nuclear Constabulary in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2017-18, (d) 2018-19 and (e) 2019-20. The figures given in answer to that question and the figures given and referred to here, show some variation. The reason for this variation is partly that the previous figures were based on indicative budgets whereas the figures given here are final budgets as approved by the Civil Nuclear Police Authority Board. CNPA Strategy and Business Plan 2016-19 (PDF Document, 386.51 KB)

uk-hansard-lords-written-answers

lordswrans2016-06-01

Prisoners: Prevention of Self-harm Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they endorse the recommendations in Chapter 7 of the recent internal review by HM Prison Service of suicide and self-harm by prisoners and their prevention; whether they endorse the three-year implementation strategy in Annex A to the review; what action they are taking to ensure that the recommendations and implementation timetable are implemented; and which, if any, recommendations they do not endorse and why. Lord Rooker: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department announced on 5 February (cols. 441-42W) the acceptance by the Director General of the Prison Service and by Ministers of all the review's recommendations and details of a three-year strategy from April 2001 to put them into effect. The strategy is under way, with £8 million planned investment this financial year. Arrangements are in place for pilot schemes in five establishments, with a focus on the early period in custody, including physical improvements to reception and induction areas. Full-time suicide prevention co-ordinators for most of 30 high risk establishments have been appointed and received initial training. The Safer Custody Group has been established within the Prison Service to implement the strategy. Reducing prisoner suicides is a high priority for Ministers and the Prison Service and will be the subject of regular discussions. Sporting Events: Drug-taking Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government: What measures they are taking to deter the use of Class A drugs at major sporting and entertainment events. Lord Rooker: The policing of individual sporting events is a matter for discussion and agreement between the police and individual event organisers. While it is true that there was some evidence of drug taking at Royal Ascot, this was at a very low level. Of the 233,000 people who attended the four-day event, there were 27 arrests, mostly for public order offences, and only two for drug related offences, compared to seven arrests for drug related offences at last year's event. In the case of Royal Ascot, the policing operation fulfilled its objective of ensuring that the public were able to enjoy the occasion in safety, free from crime and anti-social behaviour. Northern Ireland: Fuel Tax Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they consider that reducing taxation on fuel in Northern Ireland would improve revenue, prevent smuggling and increase employment; and whether they intend to take action. Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Under existing EU legislation, it is doubtful that we could introduce duty rate differentials between different regions in the UK. Air Travel: Cramped Seating Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government: In view of concerns about the adverse health effects of cramped aircraft seating, the present air passenger duty arrangements appear to act as a disincentive to airlines in providing more spacious seating for economy class passengers. Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The changes in air passenger duty introduced in Budget 2000, which came into force on 1 April 2001, apply a reduced rate of duty for passengers travelling in the lowest class on any aircraft. The introduction of more spacious seats throughout the lowest class of cabin on an aircraft would not affect the liability to the reduced rate of duty. Aviation Health Working Group Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government: What benefits are expected to flow from the activities of the inter-departmental Aviation Health Working Group; and over what time period. Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Aviation Health Working Group has agreed the following terms of reference: "The Aviation Health Working Group will meet on a regular basis and will work in partnership with other interested parties to give effect to the Government response to the House of Lords Inquiry into Air Travel and Health. Particular responsibilities identified in the response are to: Provide a forum for interested Government departments and agencies to consider issues relevant to aviation health; Provide an interface with the air transport industry, health experts and other interested parties on aviation health issues of mutual interest; Evaluate the need for research into issues related to air travel and health, and consider the role of Government in supporting such research; Ensure Ministers are kept informed and receive comprehensive advice on aviation health matters; Monitor developments that impinge on the health of those travelling by air.'' The group has so far met on three occasions. The initial focus of its work was to produce government-approved advice on the risks of deep vein thrombosis for air travellers. Preliminary short advice has already been circulated to airlines and tour operators, and more detailed advice will be issued to general practitioners and the airline industry and made available through the NHS Direct website shortly. The aim of producing such advice is to ensure that passengers have access to detailed information on the risk of deep vein thrombosis to allow them to make informed choices before they fly. The group has been particularly impressed with some of the material provided by UK airlines for their passengers in the form of pamphlets or videos. Representatives from airlines and other interested parties attended a meeting of the group on 4 May 2001. At this meeting the airlines gave information on current practice in relation to issues such as in-flight medical emergency equipment and noise on-board aircraft. The group is now considering whether current practice in these areas meets the needs of passengers and crew members. The group will also give detailed consideration to the need for further research on aviation health matters once the scoping study that is currently under way is completed in July 2001. Aviation Health Working Group Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether, given the strengthened role for the Cabinet Office in the delivery of cross departmental policies, that office will be represented on the inter-departmental Aviation Health Working Group. Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The permanent members of the group are the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, the Department of Health, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Health and Safety Executive. The Cabinet Office is kept informed of the group's work and can attend where appropriate. Diabetes Lord Campbell of Croy: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they are considering action to improve early diagnosis and treatment of diabetes in the light of the report Too Many, Too Late from the organisation Diabetes UK. Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: We recognise the importance of detecting and treating diabetes as early as possible. The UK National Screening Committee, which advises government on all aspects of screening policy, is considering whether there is a case for the introduction of a targeted screening programme for Type 2 diabetes. Its conclusions will inform the implementation of the Diabetes National Service Framework for England, which will be published later this year. NHS: Recruitment Lord Shore of Stepney: asked Her Majesty's Government: How many doctors and nurses were employed in the National Health Service in the year 2000; and over what period of years the Government are planning to achieve their recruitment target of an extra 10,000 doctors and 20,000 nurses. Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: There were 97,400 doctors and 335,950 nurses working in the National Health Service in England as at 30 September 2000. The Government plan to increase the number of doctors by 10,000 and nurses by 20,000 by 2005. CJD Surveillance Unit Report Baroness Hilton of Eggardon: asked Her Majesty's Government: When they expect to publish the ninth annual report of the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit. Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit's ninth annual report has been published. The report documents the unit's findings in relation to sporadic, familial and iatrogenic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), and also variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), up to 31 December 2000. Copies have been placed in the Library and made available on the unit's web site at www.cjd.ed.ac.uk. House of Lords: Former MPs Lord Shore of Stepney: asked Her Majesty's Government: How many members of the House of Lords are former Members of Parliament; and, of these, how many are former Ministers, with former Cabinet Ministers shown separately. Lord Williams of Mostyn: On 6 July 2001, there will be 174 members of the House of Lords who are former Members of the House of Commons. Of these, 107 will have served as junior Ministers (although at least six of the 107 were never Ministers in the Commons but became Ministers in the Lords). Of the 174, 66 were at some time members of the Cabinet (although at least two were never Cabinet Ministers in the Commons but became Cabinet Ministers in the Lords; and some of the 66 became Cabinet Ministers without previously having been junior Ministers). These figures do not include Law Officers, parliamentary private secretaries or junior whips as Ministers. Rural White Paper Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they propose to allocate parliamentary time this Session for a debate on the Rural White Paper. Lord Williams of Mostyn: Parliamentary time in the Lords is not "allocated" by the Government. The schedule of business is agreed through the usual channels. Sound Recording: Copyright Exception Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government: What are the plans to amend Section 72 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to delete reference to sound recordings. Lord Sainsbury of Turville: We have no plans to delete references to sound recordings in Section 72 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. We have, however, consulted interested parties on the possibility of changes to the scope of this exception to copyright governing the playing or showing of broadcasts in public places where the public has not paid for admission. Under the exception, the producers of sound recordings receive no royalties for the playing in public of any sound recordings in the broadcasts, although they will have done so for the original inclusion of the sound recordings in the broadcasts. Morocco: Artillery Pieces Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government: For what period a licence was given by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to refurbish 30,105 artillery pieces owned by Morocco and originally supplied by Royal Ordnance; and whether the Moroccan authorities have notified MINURSO that the work has been started, in accordance with the United Nations ceasefire agreement. Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The export licence in question is valid for two years. The question of whether the Moroccan authorities have notified MINURSO that the work has been started is a matter for the Moroccan Government and the United Nations. Animal Rights Extremists Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe: asked Her Majesty's Government: What steps they have recently taken to provide support to companies threatened by animal rights extremists. Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Government have taken a series of measures to strengthen the response to threats to legitimate businesses by animal rights extremists. The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 provides additional powers to protect companies and individuals from intimidation and harassment. The Act also provides for regulations under the Companies Act 1985 to disapply the requirement for company directors who are at serious risk of violence or intimidation to file their home address on the public record. Instead, they will be permitted to file a service address, which will appear on the public record. They will still be required to file their home address, but this will be kept on a secure register, with access restricted to law enforcement agencies and others that the regulations may specify. My department is working on the regulations in order to lay them before Parliament as soon as possible. In May, the Government set up a ministerial committee, chaired by the Home Secretary, to develop strategies to tackle animal rights extremism. The Department of Trade and Industry has undertaken to operate banking facilities for Huntingdon Life Sciences plc, which, owing to intimidation of bank staff by animal rights extremists, has been unable to find commercial facilities in the UK, while negotiations with banks continue. These actions demonstrate the Government's commitment to take positive action to ensure that companies are not prevented from undertaking legitimate business through intimidation and harassment of their staff or suppliers. Foot and Mouth Disease Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government: What is their estimate of the direct costs to the tourism industry of the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001, 2002 and 2003; and what is their estimate of the number of jobs lost and at risk in the tourism industry in the same periods as a consequence of the outbreak. Baroness Blackstone: The latest assessment put direct losses to tourism for 2001 at between £2 billion and £4 billion. Much will depend on the length of the outbreak and its geographical pattern. My officials are gathering further hard evidence to keep the assessment up to date. The impact in 2002 or 2003 cannot be assessed now. Since the beginning of the outbreak the Employment Service has been tracking the number of claims made for jobseeker's allowance where the claimant has identified foot and mouth disease (FMD) as a cause. The total number of claims attributable to FMD between 23 February 2001 and 1 June 2001 is around 6,500. For those whose employment has been affected by FMD there are additional measures in place, including training, reskilling and upskilling.

uk-hansard-lords-written-answers

lordswrans2001-07-02a

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Overseas Students Lord Dobbs: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many foreign students were studying in UK universities in each of the last 10 years, and how many of those were from China. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on students enrolled at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI). The overall number of foreign and Chinese students (undergraduate and postgraduate) at UK HEIs is set out in the following table:Higher Education Student Enrolments by Country of DomicileUK Higher Education InstitutionsAcademic Years 2004/05 to 2013/142004/052005/062006/072007/082008/092009/102010/112011/122012/132013/14Mainland China52,67550,75549,59545,35547,03556,99067,32578,71583,79087,895Hong Kong10,7809,4459,6409,7009,6009,94510,44011,33513,06514,725Macao145165205165205255265325345405People's Republic of China63,60060,36559,44055,22056,84067,19078,03090,37597,200103,025EU93,99599,985105,410112,150117,660125,045130,120132,550125,290125,300Non-EU203,125207,055220,575229,640251,310280,760298,110302,680299,970310,195International297,120307,040325,985341,790368,970405,805428,230435,230425,260435,495Source: HESA Student RecordNote: figures have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 Labour Party: Finance Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the estimated annual financial loss to the Labour Party following the implementation of clause 10 in the Trade Union Bill, which will reverse the current opt-out process. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There has been no assessment. However, the proposals in the Bill are not about party funding. The Trade Union Bill is introducing a greater level of transparency into union activities by requiring union members to make an active decision to contribute to a union’s political fund.If union members want a political fund they are perfectly free to contribute to one, so, this will not necessarily lead to a reduction in the funds available. Labour Party: Finance Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation was carried out on the provisions outlined in clause 10 of the Trade Union Bill. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Clause 10 of the Trade Union Bill takes forward the Government’s manifesto commitment to introduce a greater level of transparency into union activities by requiring union members to make an active decision to contribute to a union’s political fund.Therefore, there has been no further consultation on this. Labour Party: Finance Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an impact assessment was conducted on the provisions contained in the Trade Union Bill that will change the current opt-out process to an opt-in process. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government intends to publish the impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill before Lords’ Committee Stage. Trade Union Bill Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what date the full impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill will be published. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government intends to publish the impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill before Lords’ Committee stage. Department for Education Child Rearing The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of studies which conclude that there is a correlation between early direct maternal care and adult stability. Lord Nash: Research, such as the Early Years Learning and Development Literature Review 2009, and the January 2013 WAVE Trust report on early years, suggests that children need secure attachments with adults in order to feel safe and happy. Good home care can provide this support, which is a real benefit to children as they learn and develop.The Department has extensively assessed the impact of formal early education compared to home care, through its longitudinal research programme Effective Pre-School, Primary & Secondary Education Project (EPPSE). EPPSE followed both groups of children through preschool and school ages, examining their cognitive and social behavioural development up to their AS and A Level exam results in 2015. The EPPSE results show that young children benefit from formal childcare, go on to have better GCSE results and, as a result, are more likely to enter A Level exams.In recognition of the crucial role that parents and carers play in children’s development, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requires childcare settings to form strong partnerships with parents. The EYFS also requires settings to allocate each child a key worker to help ensure that every child’s learning and care is tailored to meet their individual needs. Child Rearing The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of studies which show that children benefit most from home care provided by close family members rather than from that available in children's day centres. Lord Nash: Research suggests that children need secure attachments with adults in order to feel safe and happy[1]. Good home care can provide this support, which is a real benefit to children as they learn and develop.There is also a wide body of evidence, including evidence from abroad, which demonstrates that early education delivered by childcare providers can play an important role in children’s early development and later attainment. For instance, the Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPSE 3-16) Project showed that children who had experienced a good home learning environment and attended a good quality childcare setting went on to obtain better grades in English and maths, and to earn more than those who received little or no pre-school experience.Additionally, the ongoing Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) shows that the chances of disadvantaged children becoming high achievers by the end of primary school were doubled when they had attended any pre-school, compared to those of disadvantaged children who had not attended pre-school.In recognition of the crucial role that parents and carers play in children’s development, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requires childcare settings to form strong partnerships with parents. The EYFS also requires settings to allocate each child a key worker to help ensure that every child’s learning and care is tailored to meet their individual needs.[1] Early Years Learning and Development Literature Review 2009, and WAVE Trust report ‘Conception to age 2: the age of opportunity’ January 2013. Ministry of Justice UK Membership of EU Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Ministry of Justice has drawn up any contingency plans for the adaptation of UK law in the event of a UK withdrawal from the EU, and if so, whether they will make those plans available to Parliament. Lord Faulks: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of the UK’s EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain in order to get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. The Government is confident that the right agreement can be reached. Prison Sentences: Females Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 17 December (HL4250), whether they now have any additional information about the number of women responsible for one or more young children who are currently serving prison sentences in England and Wales. Lord Faulks: Whilst the specific information requested is not held, the Ministry of Justice recently published statistics on child dependents of female offenders, which can be found at gov.uk on the Statistics at MOJ pages under the topic Ad-hoc justice statistics. A copy of the report is attached here. Female offenders, dependent child stats (PDF Document, 116.03 KB) Department for Culture, Media and Sport Football: Sportsgrounds Lord Faulkner of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to encourage clubs in the Football League to comply with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority's Accessible Stadia guide. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We would encourage the Football League to make a similar commitment to that made by the Premier League that all clubs in that league willcomply with the measures set out in the Accessible Stadia Guide within an agreed timescale. Department for Work and Pensions Pregnant Women: Health The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to provide at least three years' financial assistance, where such subsidy is independent of paid work, for maternal care in the home. Baroness Altmann: There are currently no plans to provide at least three years' financial assistance, where such subsidy is independent of paid work, for maternal care in the home. Home Office Parliament: Security Lord Evans of Weardale: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what national co-ordinating arrangements are in place to provide reassurance or security assistance to MPs or members of the House of Lords who receive direct or implicit threats as a result of their parliamentary duties. Lord Bates: As the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Leader of the House of Commons, stated during Business of the House of Commons on Thursday 17th December (Hansard Column No 1703), it has been agreed that a standardised approach to security packages will be made available to Members of Parliament and will address the personal security outside Westminster including at constituency offices and their homes and will include consideration of staff safety. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) will shortly be announcing details of how to access the security packages. HM Treasury Child Benefit Lord Lennie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many households that currently claim tax relief on income from residential property finance costs also claim child benefit. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The information requested is not available. Railways: South West Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had discussions with the Chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission concerning railway links between London and south-west England. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The government has had discussions on a range of topics with the Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission. The commission will examine all forms of economic infrastructure, including rail transport. Turkey: Refugees Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government over what period, and under what headings, the €3 billion offered by the EU to Turkey in respect of refugees and migrants will be spent; and what verification of expenditure there will be. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: At the EU-Turkey summit on 29 November, the EU committed €3 billion of additional support to Turkey to help ease its refugee burden and prevent further irregular migration to the EU. The European Commission has proposed a Refugee Facility for Turkey to coordinate the €3 billion in 2016 and 2017, which will be financed in part by Member State contributions and in part from the EU budget.The details of the Refugee Facility, including the financing, governance and monitoring arrangements, are currently being discussed by Member States. All contributions from the EU budget will be fully consistent with the spending limits set out in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020. Loans: Republic of Ireland Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the amount of government loans to the Republic of Ireland during the past decade; of those loans, what capital has been re-paid; and how much interest has been received. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: I refer the noble Lord to the most recent statutory report which the Treasury provided to Parliament as required by Section 2 of the Loans to Ireland Act 2010. It was published on 15 October 2015 and is available online along with all previous reports submitted.[1]This report shows the outstanding principal is £3,226,960,000, with repayments due in tranches from 15 April 2019 until 26 March 2021. An interest payment was made by the Republic of Ireland on 15 December 2015 and therefore the interest payments received now total £273,825,613.71.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bilateral-loan-to-ireland Treasury: Ministerial Policy Advisers Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total annual cost of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s political advisers, including both special advisers and members of the Council of Economic Advisers. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Details of Special Adviser numbers and remuneration across Government departments, including for Special Advisers and Members of the Council of Economic Advisers in HM Treasury, were published in December on the gov.uk website. National Savings Bonds: Pensioners Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will clarify whether they intend to reissue the 65+ Guarantee of Growth Bonds as and when they mature. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: 65+ GGB “Pensioner” Bonds were a special issue aimed at helping pensioners who rely on their savings in retirement. There are currently no plans for a further issue. Public Finance Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the difference between the public finance forecasts for 2015–16 and the actual financial figures available to date, and what assessment have they made of the reasons for the difference. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) jointly with HM Treasury publish the public sector finances statistical bulletin on a monthly basis, which provides the latest available estimates for key aspects of Public Sector Finances.The latest release was published on 22 December covering the November 2015 public sector finances.[1]Borrowing for the 8 months to November is £6.6 bn less than the same period last year against an Autumn Statement forecast of a £15.7bn full year fall. It’s clear that there is no shortcut to fixing the public finances. That’s why the Chancellor used the Autumn Statement and Spending Review to set out our plan to finish the job and build a resilient economy.The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are responsible for producing the forecasts of the public finances. They have published a detailed commentary on 22 December, which assesses the latest estimates included in the bulletin against their latest forecast[2].[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public-sector-finances-bulletin[2] http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/wordpress/docs/Dec-2015-Commentary-on-the-Public-Sector-Finances-release.pdf VAT: Tax Evasion Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of their obligation under EU law to prevent VAT evasion. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: In considering fraud against European own resources, including VAT collection, the European Court recently clarified in the Taricco judgment that Member States are obliged under EU law (Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) to have in place effective and dissuasive criminal penalties against VAT fraud. The UK applies a full range of penalties to address various behaviours from dishonesty and deliberate inaccuracies through to criminal prosecutions for VAT offences. Electronic Commerce: VAT Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the liability of online marketplaces for unpaid VAT where a business trading in that marketplace evades VAT. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Online marketplaces have no liability for unpaid VAT where the operator merely provides a marketplace for businesses to sell goods. However, HM Revenue and Customs is continuing to work with major online marketplaces to tackle this issue. Electronic Commerce: VAT Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have conducted any test purchases in online markets to provide evidence of the evasion of VAT. Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a range of operational activity in place to tackle evasion and to establish evidence of the scale of the problem. HMRC does not routinely carry out test purchases through online platforms. Cabinet Office Commission on Freedom of Information The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information to publish its report. Lord Bridges of Headley: The Independent Commission on Freedom of Information will report as soon as possible after the oral evidence sessions it has announced for 20 and 25 January. Public Inquiries Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which public inquiries they set up between May 1997 and January 2004; and what was the purpose of each. Lord Bridges of Headley: This information was made available as part of the evidence provided by the Government to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Inquiries Act 2005:http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201314/ldselect/ldinquiries/143/14318.htm Table of Inquiries under other Acts (Word Document, 117 KB) Public Inquiries Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the financial year 2003–04, what was the total cost of each public inquiry conducted; and what was paid to each inquiry chairman, including expenses and VAT. Lord Bridges of Headley: The information in relation to this time period is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the total cost on completion of those inquiries which span this time period is available as part of the evidence provided by the Government to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Inquiries Act 2005:http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201314/ldselect/ldinquiries/143/14318.htm Table of Inquiries under other Acts (Word Document, 117 KB) Statutory Instruments Lord Grocott: To ask the Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Leader of the House on 17 December that the convention on statutory instruments "has now broken" (HL Deb, col 2197), on how many occasions since the second World War such a breakage has occurred. Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Prior to October 2015, the House of Lords had rejected statutory instruments on four occasions since World War II. None of those occasions concerned a statutory instrument implementing a budget measure intended to deliver £4.4bn of savings that had already been approved by the House of Commons - thereby overruling the elected House on a matter of public spending - nor is it precedented for the House of Lords to decline to consider a statutory instrument until the Government has made specific changes to the policy underpinning it. The House's decision to withhold agreement to the Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 therefore broke new ground, and may be regarded as a breach of the convention underpinning the House's powers in regard to secondary legislation as well as the longer-standing convention regarding the financial primacy of the House of Commons. Life Peers Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many life peerages have been created since the 2010 election, and how many of those were (1) Conservative, (2) Liberal Democrat, (3) Labour, and (4) Crossbench, peerages. Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Peerages created since the 2010 election are listed below:Conservative: 109Labour: 55Liberal Democrat: 51Crossbench/Independent/other: 30Of the peers appointed since the 2010 election 22.4 per cent have taken the whip of her majesty’s official opposition. This compares to 15.7 per cent of those created between the 1997 and 2010 general elections.

uk-hansard-lords-written-answers

lordswrans2016-01-08

Ulster-Scots Agency Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government: Why the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure stopped the Ulster-Scots Agency's policy of targeting social need by removing the appropriate section of its budget for the year 2004. Baroness Amos: The approved budget for 2004 for the Ulster-Scots Agency is £1,704,000. This gives an increase of £164,000 (10.65 per cent), on the approved budget for 2003. The budget was calculated on the basis of the 2003 budget with amounts due to inflation and the cost of additional staff. This is in line with the care and maintenance mode in which North/South bodies are operating. The Ulster-Scots Agency's policy of targeting social need is ongoing and the approved budget for 2004 should not impact detrimentally on this. Targeting social need is a cross-cutting theme that should be reflected throughout the agency's programme of work. Northern Ireland: Accidental Dwelling Fires Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 22 March (WA 74) concerning cigarette-related fires in Northern Ireland, how many fires were started by means other than cigarettes; and by what other means. Baroness Amos: The numbers of accidental dwelling fires in Northern Ireland caused by means other than cigarettes since 2000 are as follows: 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04(1) Chip pan/ grill pan 435 382 316 105 Electrical Fault 263 214 224 177 Children, Matches 52 55 43 23 Candles 0 55 51 24 Others 492 414 336 107 (1)1 April 2003 to 22 March 2004—the latest date for which statistics are available. Northern Ireland: Languages Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government: Why a leaflet produced by the Northern Ireland Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety entitled The New GP Contract (reference 299/2003) is not available in the Ulster Scots language. Baroness Amos: In keeping with the department's policy on publications, the leaflet in question was produced in English only. The leaflet indicates that it will be made available in Irish, Chinese, large print, audio tape and Braille and states that consideration will be given for translation into other minority ethnic languages on request. Iraq: Car Bombs Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government: How many car bombs have been intercepted by security forces in Basra this month. Lord Bach: In the period 1 to 31 March 2004, the United Kingdom forces in Basra intercepted one vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. Defence Spending Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government: What the total government expenditure on defence in the years 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03 and what are the expected totals for 2003–04 and 2004–05, expressed in a table showing the figures in current and constant terms and indicating the percentage of gross domestic product for each year. Lord Bach: Defence spending for these years in current and constant terms can be found in Table 6 of the Government's Expenditure Plans 2003–04—2005–06 for the Ministry of Defence (Cm 5912). Defence spending as a percentage of GDP for the period 2000–01 to 2004–05 is: 2000–01: 2.4 per cent 2001–02: 2.4 per cent 2002–03: 2.3 per cent 2003–04: 2.3 per cent 2004–05: 2.3 per cent The Ministry of Defence plans to publish updated figures in the Government's Expenditure Plans 2004–05—2005–06 for the Ministry of Defence in May 2004. MoD and Environmental Tectonics Corporation Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 16 January (WA 111–112), whether they have reached a settlement with Defence and Environmental Tectonics Corporation in respect of the failure of that company to deliver the Royal Air Force centrifuge within the terms of its contract with the Ministry of Defence. Lord Bach: Under the terms of an agreement reached with the Environmental Tectonics Corporation in March 2004, the Ministry of Defence reached a full and final settlement of the dispute in respect of the failure of that company to deliver a centrifuge to the Royal Air Force. Reservists Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bach on 20 April (WA 24), why the reserve standard award for the mobilised members of the Reserve Forces has not been changed since 1997; and whether they will update it forthwith, with retrospective effect to the beginning of the 2003 Iraq conflict. Lord Bach: The regulations for the Reservist's standard award are set out in SI 1997/309. Although the banded ceilings relating to that award were prescribed in 1997, they have continued to meet the needs of the vast majority of Reservists who have made claims for financial assistance under the regulations. Furthermore, those Reservists who believe that they would suffer hardship if they receive only the standard award are able to claim an additional hardship award. There is no ceiling for a hardship award. Reservists who are dissatisfied with the payments they receive from the Ministry of Defence may appeal to a Reserve Forces appeal tribunal. Of the 10,000 Reservists that have been called out since January 2003, only eight have submitted appeals regarding their financial awards. Of those eight, two were resolved to the Reservists' satisfaction before the date of the appeal hearing, two were found in favour of the Service authorities, one is ongoing and three have yet to be heard. Notwithstanding that the current regulations have satisfied the needs of the great majority of Reservists, we recognise that the current system is both time-consuming to administer and perceived to be intrusive by Reservists. Also, we recognise that the banded ceilings are being eroded by pay awards. We are therefore planning to introduce new regulations, but there is no intention or need to make them retrospective. NATO: Ground Surveillance System Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government: What is the present status of the NATO air-to-ground surveillance (AGS) programme; to what extent the United Kingdom is participating in that programme; and how will the AGS system, when it is in operation, inter-relate with the United Kingdom's airborne stand-off radar (ASTOR) system. Lord Bach: NATO has recently announced its preferred solution to meet the requirements for a NATO-owned and operated core alliance ground surveillance (AGS) system. NATO has decided to pursue the transatlantic industrial proposed system (TIPS) option proposed by a consortium led by EADS and Northrop Grumman. The TIPS option is based on a mixed fleet of manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). NATO AGS work is now focused on taking the TIPS option through to contract award in spring 2005. The UK participated in the recently completed definition phase. While we shall not be a funding partner in future phases of the core AGS programme, we will contribute advice and guidance to ensure that the required interoperability with the ASTOR system is achieved. The UK will be offering ASTOR as a national contribution to the overall NATO AGS capability, to complement the core AGS system when the latter enters service. Airborne Stand-off Radar Programme Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether the Airborne Stand-off Radar (ASTOR) programme is still expected to result in the acquisition of five aircraft at a cost of £83.3 million each and eight ground stations at £15.2 million each; and how the remaining £462.1 million project costs, as estimated on 31 March 2003, are made up. Lord Bach: Five air platforms and eight ground stations are planned to be purchased as part of the ASTOR programme at the costs stated. The remaining project costs comprise development of the ASTOR system, establishment of a training school at RAF Waddington and provision of support. Costs are as at 31 March 2003 and as published in the major project report 2003. Watchkeeper Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government: What plans they have for enhancing the capabilities of Watchkeeper by incremental acquisition after its initial entry into service. Lord Bach: Watchkeeper is expected to be delivered through an incremental delivery programme to allow the system to benefit from both existing and developing sensors and air vehicle technology. The programme will develop from an initial operating capability to a full operating capability with timescales to be set at the main investment decision planned for later this year. Watchkeeper Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government: What constraints there are on the transmission by Bowman of streamlined video images provided by Watchkeeper. Lord Bach: Although its approved requirement does not provide for the transmission of streamed video, Bowman has a high-capacity data capability to handle and distribute compressed images and other data extracted from such sources. The effective transmission of data across the Bowman networks is a function of the size of the data file and the bandwidth available at the time. Watchkeeper Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government: What plans they have for making Watchkeeper available to warships of the Royal Navy. Lord Bach: We expect unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to be a joint capability for the joint battlespace supporting a network enabled capability. At this stage we envisage them operating primarily within the land environment but we are exploring the wider operational untility of UAV systems in the joint battlespace, including the maritime environment, through the joint UAV experimentation programme (JUEP). Iraq: Civilian Deaths Baroness Williams of Crosby: asked Her Majesty's Government: How many Iraqi civilians were killed by coalition forces in the month of March 2004. Lord Bach: United Kingdom units report all confirmed fatalities of which they are aware arising from incidents in which they were involved. We have recently put in place a mechanism for collation of unit reports since 1 May 2003. I will write to the noble Baroness as soon as a figure for March 2004 has been collated but due to the number of reports that must be examined, this is likely to take some time. We are not in a position to comment on civilian casualties allegedly caused by other coalition partners. Education: Targets Baroness Maddock: asked Her Majesty's Government: When they expect to reach their target that 85 per cent of 19 year-olds achieve a level 2 qualification. Baroness Ashton of Upholland: It is not a government target that 85 per cent of 19 year-olds achieve a level 2 qualification. In the 2000 spending review, we agreed and published, the following target—the proportion of 19 year-olds who get qualifications equivalent to five GCSEs at grade A*–C rises by three percentage points between 2002 and 2004 with a further increase of three percentage points by 2006. Measurement of outturn against the target in autumn 2003 was broadly in line with the progress needed to hit the 2004 target. Pensions Bill: Limited Price Indexation Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government: What assessments have been made, in the context of the Pensions Bill, of the impact that reducing limited price indexation will have on the number of pensioners eligible for means-tested benefits if inflation exceeds 2.5 per cent. Baroness Hollis of Heigham: We estimate that, as a result of reducing the limited price indexation cap from 5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, the average pensioner will face a reduction in their total income over retirement of less than 2 per cent. We do not therefore expect a significant increase in the number of pensioners eligible for income-related benefits. Pensions Bill: Limited Price Indexation Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether the rates of poverty among people aged over 80 are likely to be affected by the reduction in limited price indexation as outlined in the Pensions Bill. Baroness Hollis of Heigham: We estimate that, as a result of reducing the limited price indexation cap from 5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, the average pensioner will face a reduction in their total income over retirement of less than 2 per cent. As those affected will already have additional provision for their retirement from their occupational pensions, it is unlikely the measure will have any measurable impact on people aged over 80. Moreover, other measures in the Bill, such as the Pension Protection Fund, should help all pensioners by offering protection against the more significant losses of retirement income that may result from employer insolvency. Pensions Bill: Pension Protection Fund Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government: From where, if the Pensions Bill becomes law as now drafted, the extra resources required by final salary pension schemes to pay the Pension Protection Fund levy are to come. Baroness Hollis of Heigham: The PPF forms part of a substantial and balanced package of measures seeking to ease the financial and administrative burden on employers while offering a sustainable system of protection to individuals. In this way, it is hoped that possible savings made elsewhere through simplification measures will contribute to reducing the effect of the PPF levy on business overall. As explained in PQ/04/2442, the requirement to pay the levy will fall on the trustees of the scheme, who will be left to judge how the levy charge could then be shared as they see fit among employers and employees as one of the overall pension costs. Therefore, if any extra resources are required, they may be shared fairly between both the employer and active members. The Government want to take action to increase member protection without overburdening levy payers, which is why care is being taken to calculate the levy in the fairest possible way and minimise the burden on schemes. Domestic Violence: Emergency Accommodation Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government: What support they have given between January 2002 and January 2004 to organisations that give advice and emergency accommodation to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people fleeing from domestic violence. Lord Rooker: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not provided funds directly to organisations that give advice or emergency accommodation to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people fleeing from domestic violence between January 2002 and January 2004. However, the Supporting People programme, which went live on 1 April 2003, enables local authorities to provide housing-related support to vulnerable groups, including victims of domestic violence. Between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2004, around £57 million went towards an estimated 5,400 dwellings of housing-related support for victims of domestic violence. The Home Office has also provided a one-off payment to Broken Rainbow for £120,000 in January 2004, to help to set up a domestic violence helpline for the LGBT community. Domestic Violence: Emergency Accommodation Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government: What discussions they have had with Broken Rainbow LGBT Domestic Violence Service (UK) on funding to ensure that there is emergency refuge service provision for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people fleeing from domestic violence. Lord Rooker: Officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have had brief discussions with Broken Rainbow in 2004 in relation to the establishment of emergency refuge accommodation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people fleeing from domestic violence. Officials from the Government Office for London have also met representatives from Broken Rainbow this month to discuss plans for a refuge service in London. As there is no central revenue funding for such schemes, Broken Rainbow has been advised of alternative funding streams and to make contact with the relevant local authorities to put forward the case for such a service. Local Authorities: Conduct of Candidates Lord Greaves: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether the local authority standards boards and their codes of conduct have any legal standing or functions in relation to the conduct of candidates, political parties and election agents in local elections. Lord Rooker: The code of conduct, which is policed by the Standards Board for England, applies to local government members. Councillors, whether or not they are conducting re-election campaigns, remain under an obligation to act in accordance with the code. Any allegations that members had breached the code would be considered by the Standards Board in line with its usual procedures. The board has no remit in respect of political parties, candidates or election agents unless the candidates or agents are already councillors. Ofcom: Radio Spectrum The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether Ofcom has sufficient powers and technological capability to enforce appropriate controls of the 5.8GHz network, particularly in respect of dynamic frequency selection and transmit power control. Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Under the provisions of the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom has the necessary powers to manage the use of radio spectrum in accordance with the provisions of the wireless telegraphy legislation. This includes the responsibility to license or exempt from licensing, devices operating at 5.8 GHz which must comply with the Ofcom interface requirement 2007 which includes the restrictions of dynamic frequency selection and transmit power control. At present, devices operating in this band are subject to a light licensing system where registration of terminals is enforced. Ofcom has the power under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949, and the technical capability with its national field force, to take enforcement action and ultimately, where appropriate, legal proceedings against users operating devices that are not operating within the necessary licence or exemption parameters. Civil Partnerships: Inheritance Provisions Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they intend to amend the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 so as to eliminate any difference between same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The new legal status of "civil partnership" will provide a range of rights and responsibilities for same-sex couples that choose to register. The Civil Partnerships Bill makes provision for civil partners and former civil partners to be added to the categories of people entitled to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, and provides for their applications to be treated on the same basis as applications made by spouses and former spouses. The Government have no current plans to amend the 1975 Act to make similar provision for co-habiting opposite-sex or same-sex couples. Asylum Seekers: Return to Country of Origin The Earl of Sandwich: asked Her Majesty's Government: What they have done to publicise the safe return of refugees and asylum seekers to their own countries and communities, so as to counteract any public perception that all asylum seekers and migrants are coming one way. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: In replying to the above question I will refer to both voluntary returns and enforced removals from the UK, as they differ in approach. The voluntary assisted return and reintegration programme (VARRP) is aimed at assisting asylum seekers and people with exceptional or discretionary leave who are considering returning to their country of origin voluntarily. The programme is widely publicised both internally and externally, in reporting centres and induction centres as well as on the Home Office website. Voluntary returns are also publicised to communities by non-governmental organisations including the Refugee Council, Refugee Action, UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Additionally, the Home Office hosts meetings with Iraqi and Afghan community groups to raise the profile of voluntary return. The IOM, which operates VARRP on behalf of the Home Office, will return to all countries where it is safe to do so and where there are travel routes available. The Government recognise that there is scope for us to promote our enforced removals activity more than we are doing currently and we are taking various steps to try and achieve this. Given the sensitive nature of removals, we need to exercise caution and take into account the safety and well-being of the individuals being removed. However, we are already taking steps to promote some enforced removals by putting some information into the public domain. This includes using the media to help promote certain removals, inviting members of the press to take part in some enforcement operations and publishing quarterly statistics on all areas of IND activity, including removals. These statistics can be found on the Home Office website. Asylum Seekers: Readmission to Third Countries Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will invite the European Commission to publish details of the readmission agreements with third states (for asylum seekers and others) which it is negotiating on behalf of member states. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: It is normal procedure for the texts of the Community's readmission agreements with third countries to be made available only after negotiations and the ratification process have been completed. The Commission has so far been authorised by the Council to negotiate Community readmission agreements with 11 third countries, of which four have been concluded. The agreements with Macao Special Administrative Authority, Sri Lanka and Albania are undergoing ratification. The agreement with Hong Kong entered into force on 1 March 2004 as the first-ever Community readmission agreement. It has been published in the Official Journal. Overseas Post-graduate Students: Visa Fees Lord Chan: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will waive the extension of the £150 visa fee for overseas post-graduate students pursuing a Masters in Business Administration and other courses where the graduation ceremony for successful students takes place many months after the conclusion of the courses. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Provided the requirements of the Immigration Rules are met, post-graduate students should be given leave to remain for the duration of their course plus four months. This should give post-graduate students sufficient time beyond the completion of their studies to enable them to attend their graduation ceremony in the United Kingdom. There is no facility to waive fees and, other than those people legally exempt from the charge, all will have to pay for their applications to be processed. An application for further leave to remain as a student or as a visitor will attract a fee of £155 for a postal application and £250 for personal callers. Community Punishments Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government: When the efficiency of the administration of community service punishment was last reviewed and which government agency is responsible for the matter. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The government agency responsible for reviewing the efficiency of the administration of community punishment is Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation. Community punishment schemes in all 42 areas of the National Probation Service were reviewed as part of the performance inspection programme between 1999 and 2002. These inspections addressed the achievement of national and local targets, compliance with national standards, the organisation, nature and quality of the work undertaken by offenders and the satisfaction of those who benefited from that work. The currrent inspection programme is the effective supervision inspection which began in June 2003 and will eventually cover all 42 areas. This will focus on management arrangements in community punishment units, along with assessment of offenders and the suitability of work placements. Additionally, since the development of the enhanced community punishment scheme in 2003, the National Probation Directorate has developed a framework to assess how effectively this has been implemented in probation areas. A rigorous post-implementation review is currently underway with very encouraging results. Once the implementation phase is completed, areas will undertake an annual audit of their enhanced community punishment provision to ensure that quality is maintained. Community Punishments Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether litter clearance is a suitable activity for offenders sentenced to community service punishment. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Litter clearance is a suitable activity for offenders sentenced to community punishment and has always formed a proportion of the unpaid work—currently standing at 7 million hours each year—performed by offenders on community punishment orders. It provides punishment of offenders in combination with reparation to the community. The enhanced community punishment scheme which was introduced in October 2003, and is now operational in all 42 areas which make up the National Probation Service, is designed in such a way that it also has a rehabilitative effect and the potential to reduce the likelihood of reconviction. Research indicates that certain qualities or features of placements appear to increase the rehabilitative impact of community punishment and the introduction of enhanced community punishment obliged local probation areas to re-evaluate all existing placements with a view to their capacity: to provide demanding, purposeful work which the offender and the people who benefit from it see as a worthwhile contribution to the community; to ensure contact between the offender and the members of the community who benefit from the work; to provide opportunties for the offender to learn new practical and thinking skills, particularly in relation to employment; and to comply with health and safety requirements. Where existing placements have not matched these criteria, it has usually been possible for areas to work with and support beneficiaries to ensure that the requirements can be met. The type of activity undertaken is much less important than whether the placement provides challenging and demanding work for the offender, enabling them to develop skills which will improve their prospects in the job market. As long as the beneficiary and the probation area work in partnership, it should be possible to provide a quality placement through a well run litter clearance scheme. Suffolk Probation Area, for example, is currently undertaking litter clearance on a number of beaches as well as for local councils. A number of their staff are currently working towards a City and Guilds qualification which is a legal requirement for the supervision of litter clearance on highways and this should enable them to expand their activities further. Prisoners: Literacy Lord Acton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 25 March (WA 109–10), whether they will ensure that prison governors are aware of the advantages to prisoners of a system of educated prisoners teaching illiterate prisoners to read, as promoted by the Shannon Trust and other organisations. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Prison Service appreciates the potential benefits of educated prisoners helping other prisoners to learn. There are plans to support activity to train prisoners, prison officers and staff from other agencies to become adult learner supporters. The main focus will be on the Link Up project, which is funded by the Department for Education and Skills, and delivered by the Basic Skills Agency. This project will be promoted to prisons through heads of learning and skills, who are the members of the prison senior management team responsible for raising awareness of and support for successful leaning schemes within the establishment. Asylum Seekers from Zimbabwe Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether, in the case of failed asylum seekers who are unable to return to Zimbabwe because of the human rights situation there, they will use their power to grant a temporary right to remain in the United Kingdom. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We recognise that conditions in Zimbabwe are such that there are individuals who will be able to demonstrate a need for international protection. Where it is found that they meet the definition of a refugee in the 1951 UN Refugee Covention, asylum is granted. There may also be individuals whose circumstances are such that they qualify for leave under our published policies on humanitarian protection or discretionary leave. If an asylum or human rights application is refused, there will be a right of appeal to the independent appellate authorities against that decision. Should a claim be refused and any appeal be unsuccessful that means that, for that individual, return to Zimbabwe would be safe. Although we are not, in the wider context of the Government's position on Zimbabwe, generally enforcing returns of such individuals at this time, we consider it entirely reasonable to expect them to leave voluntarily. It would not be appropriate in those circumstances to grant them leave to remain in the United Kingdom. UK Frontiers: Security against Organised Crime and Illegal Immigration Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether the frontiers of the United Kingdom are secure against (a) organised crime; and (b) illegal immigration. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Government's strategy for tackling specifically organised immigration crime is Reflex, the multi-agency forum established in May 2000 which brings together key law enforcement players under the chair of the National Crime Squad. Reflex has funded several successful initiatives since its inception that have contributed to the reduction of criminally-driven immigration to the UK and other EU states. In particular, two projects (Impact 1 and 2) developed the capacity of border guards in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro to identify forged documents, while a third project in Romania saw the establishment of a team focusing effectively on people trafficking and smuggling. Reflex also funds two immigration crime teams in the UK, bringing together the subject matter expertise of the Immigration Service and the investigative capabilities of the National Crime Squad to focus on serious immigration-related crime. A third team is to be established shortly. Reflex activity in 2003–04 resulted in the disruption of 42 criminal groups and has identified £3 million of assets for confiscation and/or seizure. The National Criminal Intelligence Service manages an expanding network of Immigration Liaison Officers (currently 12) operating in key overseas posts to work closely with law enforcement agencies in the host country with the aim of tackling illegal migratory flows to the UK. The UK has developed a network of liaison officers in key posts overseas to build our intelligence picture on organised crime originating outside the UK. We have developed sectoral strategies, for example on drugs and organised immigration crime, which work upstream to take operational action and to achieve disruption as close to source as possible. We continue to work with international partners, and with organisations such as Interpol, Europol and Eurojust to act against organised crime which crosses international borders. The establishment of the recently announced Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) will bring a new focus to bear on reducing the harm caused to the UK and its citizens by all organised crime. UK Immigration Service operates pre and on-entry controls to regulate entry to the UK. Several key measures have recently been introduced in order to enhance border security. They include: the introduction of juxtaposed controls at specific locations overseas by which means the admissibility of passengers is considered and decided prior to embarkation, resulting in improperly documented or those ineligible for entry not being allowed to proceed to the UK; the expansion of the Airline Liaison Network overseas, which is designed to give advice and assistance to airlines in relation to the documentation and the prevention of the carriage of inadequately documented passengers to the UK; the deployment of freight searching detection equipment in UK ports and overseas to target those who seek to enter the UK clandestinely; and an informed visa strategy designed to establish qualification for entry to the UK prior to arrival. As a result of the deployment of detection technology, enhanced juxtaposed controls and close co-operation with our EU counterparts, port operators and carriers, over 9,000 people were prevented travelling to the UK from France during 2003. EU Enlargement: Roma Migrants Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have made any estimates of the number of Roma people who may seek to enter the United Kingdom following the enlargement of the European Union on 1 May 2004; and whether they have made any contingency plans for the reception and accommodation of these immigrants. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The published estimates of numbers likely to travel to the United Kingdom from the new members of the European Union after 1 May do not distinguish between Roma and others. The Government have not made contingency plans for the reception of Roma or any other migrants from those countries. We have made very clear, particularly through information campaigns in the countries concerned, that those coming to this country from the accession states must be able to support themselves. There will be no special assistance given to them. Passports Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government: What charge is made for the replacement of a lost or stolen United Kingdom passport; and whether such charge covers the total cost of replacing the passport there is any element of penalty included in the charge. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: There is no charge levied by the UK Passport Service on people who report their passports lost or stolen other than the fee required to replace the passport. There is no element of penalty in the fee charged for the replacement passport. The Passport Service operates on a net running costs regime and all its costs are recovered through passport fees. Following the introduction, from 8 December 2003, of improved arrangements for reporting lost, stolen and recovered passport arrangements, the Passport Service has conducted an extensive publicity campaign, one of the key themes of which has been to highlight passport holders' responsibilities for the safekeeping of this important document. Also, as part of its annual fee review the Passport Service will be examining whether a differential and higher fee can be charged for replacing a lost and/or stolen document. Passports Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether it is desirable that the Registrar of Births and Deaths should inform the Passport Office of deaths in order that any valid passport held by a deceased person can be cancelled; if so, whether legislation is needed to facilitate this; and, if so, whether they expect to introduce such legislation. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The UK Passport Service has been seeking to establish arrangements to receive routine notification of deaths from the Registar General in England and Wales to enable it to cancel any passport held by a deceased person. Legislation is required to facilitate access to the death records for this purpose. In January 2002, the Government published the White Paper, Civil Registration: Vital Change, which set out plans for greater sharing of registration information across government. The order-making powers of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 will be used to make changes to the legislation covering access to death registration records. It is expected that the draft order will be presented to Parliament for scrutiny before the Summer Recess. Passports Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government: What arrangements are in place for the cancellation of the validity of a passport held by a deceased person; how many passports of deceased persons have been returned to the authorities for cancellation in the past 12 months; and how many passports have been cancelled as a consequence of the deceased holders. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Every passport contains a reminder that it should be returned for cancellation on the death of the holder. On receipt these passports are cancelled. The United Kingdom Passport Service is in discussion with the Office for National Statistics on arrangements to facilitate via local registrars of births, marriages and deaths the return of deceased persons' passports on notification of death. The figures for passports of deceased persons cancelled in the last 12 months are not immediately available. The Passport Service is currently collating this information and I have asked the Director of Operations to write to the noble Lord with the information as soon as it is available. Passports Lord Inglewood: asked Her Majesty's Government: What plans there are for passports issued by member states of the European Union to include biometric detail. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: A draft regulation presented by the European Commission Document 2004/0039 on 18 February (Council Document 6406/04) will require passports issued by European Union member states to include at least one biometric identifier. Passports Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether naturalisation information and application papers are available at all times in the Belfast Passport Office. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: UK Passport Service staff do not detail the requirements or hold the application papers for naturalisation or registration as a British citizen. All inquiries and requests are referred to the Home Office Nationality Group in Liverpool. Passports Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government: Why, in terms of passports, there are differences between British citizens and British subjects; what the differences are; and whether any changes are envisaged. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Citizenship is a matter of law, which is determined by the facts of a person's date and place of birth, those of their parents and the application of the provisions of the relevant legislation. The British Nationality Status of Aliens Act 1914 determined in law that all persons born in the United Kingdom and Crown's dominions would hold the status of British subject. The British Nationality Act 1948 introduced the concept of citizenship and determined which British subjects would become a British subject, citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies (BSUKC). The Act came into force on 1 January 1949, and provided for all persons born in the United Kingdom and Colonies to become BSUKC by birth. Those born in a foreign or Commonwealth country who had a father born in the United Kingdom or existing colony would become BSUKC by descent. Other British subjects with a close connection with an independent Commonwealth country became British subjects, citizens of . . . (the Commonwealth country). The status of British subject was retained by a small number of British subjects. In particular Irish citizens born before 1 January 1949 could elect to remain British subjects. British subjects born in British India before 1 January 1949 who did not become citizens of India also remained British subjects on 1 January 1949. The British Nationality Act 1981 provided for BSUKCs who had the right of abode in the United Kingdom to become British citizens on 1 January 1983. It also retained the status of British subject for those who remained British subjects on 1 January 1949. British subject status only applies to those born before 1 January 1949 and cannot be passed to further generations by descent, as is the case with British citizenship. The status will fail to exist when the last British subject is deceased. All British passports are issued in the same format and are only distinguishable by the status shown on the personal details page, or in some cases where the passport holder is not a European national for passport purposes by the absence of "European Union" on the front cover. The major difference between the status British citizen and British subject is that British citizens are able to travel freely within the European Union whereas British subjects who are not European nationals for passport purposes, may need to obtain visas prior to travel. Individuals holding "British Subject" passports may be required by the immigration laws of the receiving country to obtain visas prior to travel. This is not a matter over which the British Government have any authority to intervene. The UK Passport Service therefore recommends that all travellers check with the travel agent or the embassy, high commission or consulate of the country they intend to visit if a visa is required. There are no changes envisaged. HMP Maghaberry: Immigration Act Detainees Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government: How many Immigration Act detainees were held in HM Prison Maghaberry at the most recent date; whether any were children or juveniles; how many were awaiting deportation; and whether their regime (akin to that of prisoners on the enhanced regime) would be improved if they were treated as remand prisoners. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: As at 27 December 2003 (the latest available date for which data are available) fewer than five individuals recorded as having sought asylum were detained at HMP Maghaberry, all of whom were adult males. It is not possible to identify how many of these persons were awaiting deportation. Detainees held at HMP Maghaberry are at present treated as unconvicted prisoners, who would include prisoners on remand. Information on the number of people detained as at 27 March 2004 will be published on the Home Office website (www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1. html) on 25 May 2004. Asylum Seekers: Gender Issues Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether the new Home Office instructions on gender issues will have the effect that women applying for asylum will always be interviewed by women. Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Home Office Asylum Policy Instructions on Gender reinforces the existing position that every effort will be made to ensure requests for same-sex interviewers are met. Afghanistan: Reconstruction Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government: What is their assessment of the significance of the current situation in Afghanistan in their action against Al'Qaeda; and in this context, what are they now doing, together with their allies, to limit the power of the warlords and to increase aid and assistance for civil reconstruction. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: As a result of our efforts with the US and others in Afghanistan, that country is no longer a safe haven for Al'Qaeda (AQ). It is not always easy to distinguish AQ elements from other groups hostile to the current political process in Afghanistan. Extremists are undoubtedly attempting to establish bases there from which to operate, but successful military operations conducted by the coalition and units of the Afghan national army (ANA) are preventing them doing so. AQ operations worldwide have suffered disruption. AQ leadership is dispersed and operating under increasingly difficult conditions. Many key operatives and planners have been detained. The US-led coalition and NATO have now deployed a total of 12 provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) to help to extend the authority of central government at the expense of regional power-holders. The UK-led PRT in Mazar-e-Sharif helped to broker a ceasefire between two regional commanders in October 2003 and more recently played a key role in preventing factional unrest developing in Faryab Province, where a second UK-led PRT is now being established. The new PRT is already working with ANA and Afghan national police units sent to the area by President Karzai. PRTs have had a demonstrably beneficial effect on security in the areas they cover and this in turn helps to facilitate reconstruction. On 1 March 2004 my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development announced in his Written Statement (Official Report, Column 74WS) an increase of the UK's commitment, from £200 million over five years to at least £500 million over the same period. This funding is to support a range of reconstruction work, support for conflict prevention, and the counter-narcotics effort. A booklet outlining DfID's programme in Afghanistan has been placed in the Library of the House. International donors demonstrated their commitment to Afghanistan at the Berlin conference held on 31 March to 1 April 2004 by pledging 8.2 billion dollars of assistance over the next three years. This represents two-thirds of Afghanistan's requirements over this period. We hope that the full requirement will be met through more money becoming available from donors that were only able to make one-year pledges in Berlin. Iraq: Amnesty International Report Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government: What is their response to each of the 11 recommendations in the Amnesty International report on the human rights situation in Iraq, entitled Iraq: one year on the human rights situation remains dire. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We are carefully considering the recommendations of the Amnesty International report Iraq: one year on. With regard to the specific recommendations, we will be writing to Amnesty International once we have had time to consider them fully. We will place a copy of our response in the Library of the House. Sudan: Darfur Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have received evidence from Darfur, western Sudan, that rape is being used as a weapon of war; and what is their reponse to the comments of the United Nations co-ordinator, Mukesh Kapila, that the situation is comparable to the Rwandan genocide. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 19 April (Official Report, Cols. WA 2–3). We have received alarming reports of systematic clearing of areas in Darfur based on the ethnic origin of the population in those areas. Civilians have been targeted. We have made clear that reported attacks directed against civilians, including rape, should be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. A five-person team from the Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights is in Darfur to investigate reports of serious human rights violations. We await their report. But the situation in Darfur is very different to that of Rwanda in 1994. North Korea Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have received the appeal issued by Christian Solidarity Worldwide on 15 April on behalf of Mr Park Yong-chol (alias Jo Yung-su), arrested in China on 18 January 2003, and facing repatriation to North Korea on 1 May; and whether they will make, in conjunction with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a humanitarian demarche in his favour. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We are aware of Mr Park's case, and have received the appeal issued by Christian Solidarity Worldwide on his behalf. We are currently discussing with EU partners action we might take. Vietnam: Montagnard Christians Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government: What representations they have made to the Government of Vietnam regarding the killing of Montagnard Christians in the central highlands of Vietnam during demonstrations over the Easter weekend. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We are very concerned about the recent violence in the central highlands, and in particular about the reported deaths of several protestors. My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development (Gareth Thomas) raised the issue during his visit to Vietnam on 21 April. Our ambassador in Hanoi expressed our concern to the Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister on 16 April and again on 20 April with EU partners at the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With our EU partners, we called on the Vietnamese authorities to respect fully international human rights standards in their response to demonstrations; to allow the international community access to the area; and to address the grievances of the ethnic minority people in the central highlands. My honourable friend the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mike O'Brien) raised the situation of the Montagnards as well as broader human rights issues, including freedom of religion, during his visit to Vietnam on 16–18 March 2004. Vietnam: Montagnard Christians Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have given support to the call of King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia that the Government of Cambodia should give refuge to Montagnard Christians fleeing the central highlands of Vietnam. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We regularly raise with the Cambodian authorities the importance of fulfilling their obligations under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its related 1967 protocol. We will also continue to reiterate to the Cambodian authorities the need for close co-operation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and of full access to the region for the UNHCR so that the status of those seeking refuge can be properly assessed. Iraq: Alleged Punitive House Demolitions Baroness Williams of Crosby: asked Her Majesty's Government: What is their position on the alleged policy of punitive house demolitions in Iraq; and whether they deem such policies to have had a role in provoking the recent violent upsurge in that country. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The UK strongly denies allegations that we have been involved in collective punishments, including the destruction of property, and would fully investigate any such allegation. Where property or land has been destroyed during the course of coalition activities we understand that the owners have been compensated. Iraqi Special Tribunal Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the statute establishing the Iraqi Special Tribunal. Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The statute establishing the Iraq Special Tribunal is publicly available on the Coalition Provisional Authority website: www.cpa-iraq.org. Rural Delivery Review Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government: When their consultation on Lord Haskins's rural delivery review will start; how long it will last; and when they plan to publish the results. Lord Whitty: Consultation on the Government's response to Lord Haskins' rural delivery review began with the publication of our initial response on 11 November last year. Since then a wide range of stakeholders and interested parties have been consulted, e.g. through stakeholder meetings, partnership working and web-based consultation on particular aspects of the work. A large number of representations have been received and are being taken into account. This process of consultation and partnership working will continue up to and beyond the Government's full response to Lord Haskins' Review, which will be in the context of a refreshed rural strategy as promised by the Secretary of State in her speech on 4 November.

uk-hansard-lords-written-answers

lordswrans2004-05-04a

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Nuclear Power Stations: Coastal Areas baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Office for Nuclear Regulation has a threshold beyond which the construction of new nuclear power stations would be disallowed on a specific section of coastline as a result of Met Office projections for (1) sea levels, or (2) the frequency of storm surges. lord callanan: The independent Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) considers nuclear site licence applications and related regulatory matters on a case-by-case basis. In order to ensure the impact of climate change and the adequacy of project specific mitigations are fully and properly considered, the ONR does not prescribe thresholds in advance. The regulator requires appropriate safety margins and considers the latest official climate change predictions, prepared with the Meteorological Office and the Environment Agency. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Islamic State: Prosecutions lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the authorities in Kurdistan lack sufficient resources to detain, investigate and prosecute suspected Daesh fighters; what assistance they will offer to address those issues; and what steps they will take to establish an international or regional tribunal to prosecute Daesh fighters. lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK assesses that the effective prosecution of Daesh fighters in Iraq presents a significant challenge to Iraq's judicial systems, including in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We are working directly with the judicial systems of the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRI) to build their capacity, as called upon by UN Security Council Resolution 2379 on Daesh Accountability. We have identified areas where we can share expertise and will continue to work closely with Iraq's judiciary to ensure due process and compliance with international law.Our Embassy in Baghdad has regular discussions with the Government of Iraq and the UN Investigative Team for the Accountability of Daesh (UNITAD), encouraging close co-operation between them to achieve justice for the victims of Daesh's crimes. Through advanced witness protection and support UNITAD is expanding its engagement with witnesses and survivors. We are committed to ensuring that those responsible for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity are brought to justice in accordance with due legal process. The UK will continue to work closely with international partners in addressing the issues associated with foreign terrorist fighters and in the pursuit of justice of those who have participated in terrorism overseas. Bahrain: Human Rights lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 24 February (HL1680), what specific monitoring is doneto track improvements in the human rights situation in Bahrainfor programmes inthat country. lord ahmad of wimbledon: The British Government takes note of a number of sources of information to track and assess the human rights landscape in Bahrain, including private engagement, statistical data, and public reports.Our assistance is designed to support Bahrain-led reform in areas including human rights. It is provided in line with international standards and fully complies with our human rights obligations and the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance process. Programmes are routinely monitored by officials and evaluated, by officials, on a regular basis to ensure that they are on track for delivery. Israel: Palestinians baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the shooting of a 15 year old Palestinian child near Kufr Qaddum on 30 January and reports that there was a delay to his transportation to hospital. lord ahmad of wimbledon: While we have not raised the case in question, we remain concerned at reported instances of excessive use of force by Israeli forces. We call on Israel to adhere to the principles of necessity and proportionality when defending its legitimate security interest. We urge the Israeli authorities to thoroughly investigate every alleged instance and bring those responsible to justice. We have also stressed the importance of the Israel security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, in particular the need to protect children. We did so most recently at the UN Security Council on 21 January. Free movement of patients and medical personnel is vital to the effectiveness of care. Delays to treatment can endanger the health and lives of patients. Palestinians: Trade baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the prevention of Palestinian agricultural exports via Jordan by Israeli authorities. lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK is concerned about the impact of recent Israeli trade restrictions on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The British Government strongly supports the principle of free trade. UK businesses should be free to import Palestinian products without barriers. Her Majesty's Ambassador to Israel has raised this issue with the Government of Israel, most recently on 12 February. We welcome the agreement reached by the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, on 20 February, to lift their respective trade restrictions. We urge both sides to ensure implementation of this agreement. Iran: Baha'i Faith baroness whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports thatIran’s Baha'i minority are being prevented from obtaining identity cards under new rules, thereby depriving them of basic civil rights. lord ahmad of wimbledon: We are aware of reports that Iran's Baha'i community are being prevented from obtaining identity cards under new rules, depriving them of accessing many basic services. We remain concerned about the continued harassment and mistreatment that the Baha'i and other minority religious groups face. We support the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran's assessment that discrimination against the Baha'is in Iran is sanctioned by a lack of constitutional recognition. We regularly call upon Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to protect freedom of religion or belief to all Iranians. Identity Cards: Religion lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with governments of countries that require religious affiliation to be stated on identity cards or other official documents about such a requirement. lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK opposes the requirement that religious affiliation should be stated on identity cards or other official documents. In Myanmar for example, the UK has supported the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission's to reform the 1982 Citizenship Law, and has urged the Myanmar Government to fully implement them. This would ensure that citizenship, and ID cards, are not linked to ethnic or religious status. Defending and promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a longstanding human rights priority for the British Government. We actively promote the importance of FoRB and tackling discrimination on the basis of religious identity through our diplomatic activity both bilterally, and through multilateral fora such as the UN. Ministry of Defence HMS Vanguard lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government when HMS Vanguard will re-join the Fleet; and what is the final cost of the present refit and refuelling. baroness goldie: I am withholding details of when HMS VANGUARD will re-join the Fleet as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. I am also withholding the estimated cost of the present refit and refuelling, as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests. Department for Work and Pensions Poverty: Statistics the lord bishop of durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are planning to adopt the Social Metrics Commission's measurement of poverty across all departments following the Department for Work and Pensions' commitment in May 2019 to develop experimental statistics using that Commission's measurement; and whether they have any further information on this issue. baroness stedman-scott: In May 2019 the Government announced that it would develop a new experimental poverty statistic. The Department aims to publish these statistics in the second half of 2020 and this work is ongoing. Home Office British National (Overseas): Passports lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications have been received for British National (Overseas) passports in each of the last three years, broken down by month. baroness williams of trafford: The figures provided for 2019 can only be reported up to the end of June 2019 as these figures are reported within the Home Office transparency figures and cannot be published separately at this time. MonthBN (O) applications received in 2018January1,779February1,464March1,677April1,642May1,765June1,681July1,866August1,726September1,337October1,911November1,780December1,821 MonthBN (O) applications received in 2017January1,734February1,573March1,798April1,558May1,820June1,742July1,906August1,797September1,669October1,871November1,526December1,413 MonthBN (O) applications received in 2019January2,139February1,753March2,581April2,957May3,492June5,532 Cabinet Office Prime Minister: Official Engagements lord hennessy of nympsfield: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many engagements the Prime Minister has undertaken in his capacity as Minister for the Union since the December 2019 general election. lord true: As Minister for the Union, all the engagements my Rt Hon friend the Prime Minister carries out are undertaken in that capacity. Details are published quarterly on the gov.uk website. Department for International Trade Trade Agreements: USA the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Prime Minister will meet the President of the United States to discuss a trade deal between the UK and the USA; and when it is proposed that formal trade negotiations will commence. viscount younger of leckie: Now that our negotiating objectives for a UK US Free Trade Agreement have been published, we are in a position to negotiate and are in discussions with the United States about when those negotiations will commence. The Prime Minister values the UK’s relationship with the United States, our closest defence and security ally and largest single trading partner. He speaks regularly to the President and will discuss the progress of negotiations in his discussions with the President over the coming months.

uk-hansard-lords-written-answers

lordswrans2020-03-04

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Property Development: Greater London Lord Mawson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to connect the building developments in East London Tech City with the developments in the Lower Lea Valley. Lord Maude of Horsham: The Mayor of London is responsible for economic development in London, as well as housing policy and delivery and strategic planning. These responsibilities come together through the statutory London Plan. Thus it is for the Mayor and the Greater London Authority, working with the relevant London boroughs, to make the most of the important opportunities provided by the developments in East London Tech City and the Lower Lea Valley. Social Services: Training Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the training scheme to create a career ladder for care workers by developing the role of care practitioners has been cancelled. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government is spending significant sums this year (circa £130 million) to train and develop the adult social care workforce; this includes £12m for the Workforce Development Fund for training to develop the workforce.Whilst pre-contract discussions had taken place, no formal financial commitment was made to this specific project by UK Commission for Employment and Skills and the project has been informed that funding is not available.In order to prioritise funding on the adult skills participation budgets, savings are being made from supporting budgets such as the UKCES. The Government is working closely with its delivery partners, Skills for Care and National Skills Academy Social Care to improve the level of skills of the adult social care workforce.The adult social care workforce has a key role to play as service users experience of care depends heavily on the sensitivity and compassion of care workers. Better skills and training are an important part of raising standards overall. Department for Education Pre-school Education: Finance Baroness Massey of Darwen: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding exists to provide early years education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs. Lord Nash: The Department funds local authorities for high needs provision through the Dedicated Schools Grant. Local authorities have reported that they are planning to spend £11.62 million from this grant on children in their early years and £72.48 million on hospital education. Local authorities are able to allocate some of this funding to children who cannot attend school because of health needs. We are not able to provide a response with an amount allocated specifically to these children as the needs of children varies amongst different local authorities, and therefore it is right that decision making on allocation of funding for special educational needs and disabilities is made at a local level. Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Lord Northbourne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role of secondary schools in building self-confidence and social and emotional skills in their pupils. Lord Nash: All schools should equip young people with the necessary skills to leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. Personal Social Health and Economic (PSHE) education has a vital role to play in this and we want all schools to put it at the heart of their curriculum.This includes developing character traits like self-confidence, motivation and resilience. These traits support academic attainment, are valued by employers, and encourage young people to make a positive contribution to British society. Many schools are already doing this. The 27 schools and organisations that were winners of character awards in 2015 demonstrated excellence in the area. We will continue to support schools in developing these traits in pupils without prescribing compulsory measures. In order to do this, we are investing £5 million in character education, including £3.5m of grants for 14 projects and £1m to the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to build evidence and expand research into the most effective character education.Last September, Ofsted introduced a common assessment framework for the inspection of schools, early years and further education and skills remits. There is an overall effectiveness judgement underpinned by four graded judgements, one of which is a new judgement on personal development, behaviour and welfare. This aspect, therefore, will be graded and reported on in all school inspections.Additionally, before making the final judgement on the overall effectiveness of all schools, Ofsted inspectors must evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This means that when judging the effectiveness of leadership and management, inspectors will consider the design, implementation and evaluation of the curriculum, ensuring breadth and balance and its impact on pupils’ outcomes and their personal development, behaviour and welfare. Ministry of Defence Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their most recent estimate of the unit cost of the UK’s F-35Bs has been revised (1) upwards, or (2) downwards, as a result of updated information provided by the US Joint Strike Fighter programme. Earl Howe: We continue to see a reduction in aircraft unit costs which is in line with the estimates shown in the annual US Selected Acquisition Report. The UK's F-35 programme remains within its cost approval limit as detailed in the National Audit Office Major Projects Report 2015. Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their most recent estimate of the in-service date for the F-35B aircraft. Earl Howe: UK F-35B Lightning II Initial Operating Capability remains on schedule for 2018. Prosthetics Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the pilot programme for Direct Skeletal Fixation is proceeding, and when they expect that pilot to be completed. Earl Howe: Work is currently under way between the Ministry of Defence, NHS England and the UK Departments of Health to put in place a patient referral pathway to enable access for eligible military personnel and Veterans to the Direct Skeletal Fixation programme. This includes the definition of clinical criteria to access the programme as the procedure will not be appropriate for every individual. The programme is expected to begin in spring 2016 for two and a half years and the results will be published following completion. Unmanned Systems Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to devise a written policy for the development, integration and use of military unmanned systems. Earl Howe: The Ministry of Defence is currently seeking to articulate in one policy document the considerations for future UK capability requirements, development, integration and use of unmanned systems. Syria: Military Intervention The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK airstrikes have been carried out against Daesh in Syria over the last two months; how many of those were against (1) economic targets, and (2) human targets; and what estimate they have made of collateral damage from those strikes. Earl Howe: As at 18 January 2016 the Royal Air Force has conducted a total of 22 air strikes against Daesh targets in Syria, beginning on the 2 December 2015 after the House of Commons vote.Of these, 11 strikes were against oil infrastructure, one was against a Daesh command and control centre and 10 were against Daesh fighters and their equipment. No collateral damage or civilian casualties arose from these strikes. Department for Culture, Media and Sport Athletics: Drugs Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UK Athletics report A Manifesto for Clean Athletics. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: I welcome UK Athletics contributing to the debate on anti-doping and underlining its commitment to clean sport.It’s important that all sports continue to look at ways they can further promote clean sport and we will continue to work closely with UK Anti-Doping, World Anti-Doping Agency and sports governing bodies on tackling doping. Public Records Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 13 January (HL4703 and HL4704), whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of the grounds for retention linked to the relevant retention instruments. Baroness Neville-Rolfe: I refer the noble Lord to the response to HL4704. Cabinet Office Government Departments: Buildings Lord Wallace of Saltaire: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether underused government buildings in Westminster such as the Lancaster House conference centre and the Foreign Secretary’s official residence are being considered for sale to private buyers, and if not, why not. Lord Bridges of Headley: This government is committed to rationalising and reducing the government estate to realise efficiencies and release value. By identifying underused properties and modernising our buildings to make better use of a smaller number of properties, we have reduced our Estate by 2 million square metres, saving over £750 million in running costs and generating nearly £1.8 billion in capital receipts since 2010.Both Lancaster House and 1 Carlton Gardens are properties leased by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office from the Crown Estate. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office is therefore not in a position to sell either property. Both properties are in regular use for either conferences, meetings or official hospitality. All Foreign and Commonwealth Office properties are under regular review to ensure value for money. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Thames Tideway Tunnel Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in deciding on measures to limit pollution from storm water overflows in accordance with the footnote to Annex I.A of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), they have specified a certain acceptable number of storm water overflows per year in respect of the Thames Tideway upstream of Beckton; and, if so, what that number is. Lord Gardiner of Kimble: We have not specified an acceptable number of storm water overflows per year in respect of the Thames Tideway upstream of Beckton. The approach we have taken in the Tideway area is to improve sewage treatment and to increase the capacity of the collecting system, with a view to meeting agreed environmental objectives and to complying with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. The measures to deliver this are the Lee Tunnel, the Thames Tideway Tunnel and upgrades to five major sewage treatment works in London. Environment Agency: Public Appointments Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why chairing the Environment Agency is a part-time post. Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Agency has a full time Executive and CEO who are responsible for all operational decisions.The role of the Chairman is to hold the Executive to account through regular meetings and committees and provide leadership and strategic vision for the Board.The Chairman does not operationally manage day to day business and is therefore part-time. This is the usual case for Chair appointments to Public Bodies across Government. Environment Agency: Redundancy Pay Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much severance pay was offered, and subsequently paid, to the Chairman of the Environment Agency prior to his resignation. Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Sir Philip Dilley will work until the end of January to allow a measured transition. He will receive no severance package. Water Companies: Profits Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Ofwat concerning the profits made by water companies between 2010 and 2015. Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government has regular discussions with Ofwat about its strategic priorities and objectives for regulation of the water sector.Ofwat sets price controls independently of Government. This independence is crucial to ensure stable economic regulation which keeps investment costs down and customer bills low.In 2009, Ofwat set price controls for the period from 2010 to 2015. During this period water companies benefited from several factors outside their control, including low taxation and low borrowing costs. In March 2013, Ofwat challenged companies to share gains with their customers. The then Secretary of State wrote to companies in November 2013 in support of Ofwat’s drive. As a result, companies absorbed costs and provided water bill discounts worth £435 million over this period.In 2014, Ofwat delivered a tough price review which means that bills will fall by around 5% in real terms from 2015 to 2020. Department of Health Physiotherapy: Training Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Health Education England to ensure that the number of physiotherapy student commissions for 2016–17 supports the goal of increasing the number of student places outlined in the Comprehensive Spending Review, in the light of the current annual shortfall of 500 physiotherapists required to meet demand reported by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Lord Prior of Brampton: As set out in the Spending Review, from 1 August 2017, new nursing, midwifery and allied health students will no longer receive National Health Service bursaries. Instead, they will have access to the same student loans system as other students.We intend that students studying nursing, midwifery and the allied health subjects as a second degree will also be able to get student loans.The change will only affect new students commencing their courses from 1 August 2017.We plan to publish a consultation at the end of February 2016, to ask how we can successfully deliver the reforms.Under the loans system, students on nursing, midwifery and allied health courses will receive around a 25% increase in the financial support available to them for living costs. The precise change for individuals will be dependent on their circumstances – for example, where they study, the length of the course, income and residency.This will build on the success of wider higher education funding reform, enabling universities to provide up to 10,000 additional nursing, midwifery and allied health training places over this parliament, so more applicants will have the chance to become a health professional.As set out in the Health Education England (HEE) commissioning and investment plan for 2016-17, HEE plans to commission 1,439 physiotherapy training places.

uk-hansard-lords-written-answers

lordswrans2016-01-20

Government Departments: Websites Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Andrews on 20 November (WA 224—5), whether they intend to mark any festival of the Church of Scientology on the Communities and Local Government website. Baroness Andrews: My department does not intend to do so. Government Departments: Websites Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Andrews on 20 November (WA 224—5), who are the stakeholders to which that Answer refers. Baroness Andrews: Ministers and officials send paper or electronic Christmas cards to a variety of people. A list of recipients is not held centrally and could only be compiled at disproportionate cost. Government Departments: Websites Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Andrews on 20 November (WA 224—5), why Christmas cards are to be used to convey Christmas greetings rather than a goodwill message on the website of the Department for Communities and Local Government as in the marking of non-Christian religions. Baroness Andrews: This year my department will mark Christmas both by the sending of cards and the posting of a goodwill message on its website. Railways: Eurostar Lord Rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what steps they are taking to prepare Eurostar international rail services for sale. (2) what is the timescale for the prospective sale of (a) the Channel Tunnel Rail Link; (b) Eurostar (U.K.) Limited; and (c) property associated with London and Continental Railways. (3) what representations have been received from other shareholders regarding the sale of Eurostar. (4) what form of offer for sale is being planned in respect of Eurostar. Lord Adonis: In the recent Pre-Budget Report, the Government stated: "Following the passing of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Act 2008 last July it is the Government's intention (depending on prevailing market conditions) to proceed with the restructuring of London and Continental Railways Ltd and eventual sale of key assets such as High Speed 1, the rail link between London St Pancras and the Channel Tunnel to deliver best value for the taxpayer". This restructuring work continues and HS1 is currently consulting the rail industry on prospective terms and conditions of access for the railway. No decision has been reached on the timing of sale of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, nor in relation to the form or timing of any sale of other London and Continental Railways Ltd (LCR) assets apart from the sale of some surplus land in connection with the HS1 project. The Eurostar services are an unincorporated international joint venture comprising Eurostar (UK) Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of London and Continental Railways Ltd) and SNCF and SNCB respectively. The Government will continue to have discussions with LCR and the joint venture partners in relation to Eurostar. LCR has had for a number of years a programme to realise value from the sale of land acquired for the project that is now no longer required. This programme is continuing. LCR has completed the sale of certain land holdings at Stratford to the Olympic Delivery Authority and to its development partner Westfield. Other realisations of value from LCR's land interests, principally those at Kings Cross, are expected over the medium term. Railways: Wheelchair Users Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 20 November (WA 227) on arrangements train operators must make for accommodating wheelchair users, what is meant by "reasonable steps"; and whether any written guidance is available. Lord Adonis: It is for each station operator to decide policies in this area and compliance will vary depending on the circumstances of individual stations. There is no prescribed definition of "reasonable". Ultimately this is a matter for the courts to decide, taking into account the individual facts of any case brought by a disabled person who feels that they have been discriminated against. Guidance on this issue, Avoiding Disability Discrimination in Transport: A Practical Guide for Rail Services, was produced by the Disability Rights Commission. The commission also produced two statutory codes of practice on Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act. These are the Code of Practice—Rights of Access: Services to the Public, Public Authority Functions, Private Clubs and Premisesandthe Code of Practice: Provision and Use of Transport Vehicles. These publications are available from the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. Railways: Wheelchair Users Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 20 November (WA 227) on arrangements train operators must make for accommodating wheelchair users, what is meant by "will provide"; and whether disabled passengers are obliged to give notice of their travel to the station. Lord Adonis: Where a disabled person's journey starts from or finishes at a station that is inaccessible to them, there is an obligation upon the train operator to supply, at no additional charge, some form of accessible transport from the start station to the next accessible station along the route, or from the final accessible station to the destination station. This obligation is usually subject to operators being given reasonable prior notice of the need for alternative transport, and to the availability of suitable alternative transport. Information about these arrangements should be well publicised in information material aimed at passengers who have some form of disability. Roads: Dartford Crossing Lord Hanningfield: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will hold a referendum in Essex and Kent on the continuation of the Dartford crossing tolls; and whether they will ring-fence future income for transport investment in the two counties. Lord Adonis: The charges at the Dartford crossing were introduced in 2003 after toll revenues had paid the costs of the QEII Bridge. Parliament agreed the enabling powers for the charge in 2000, and the introduction of charges was the subject of a consultation exercise. The Government have recently implemented a revised charging regime at the crossing following two consultation exercises. There are no plans to hold a referendum. By law revenues from the crossing must be invested in transport. Until this year a proportion of revenues was made available to support integrated transport projects in the local area. Following our consultation on the local discount scheme this arrangement has now ceased and there are no plans to reintroduce any local earmarking of revenues. However, revenues from the crossing add to the resources available to the Department for Transport to support projects across the country, including investments in Kent and Essex. Roads: Dartford Crossing Lord Hanningfield: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will trial the removal of the Dartford crossing tolls and assess the subsequent impact on congestion levels. Lord Adonis: The Government do not plan to undertake such a trial. The toll plazas fulfil an important traffic management function, especially going northbound into the tunnels, and allow the queues to be managed before the tunnel entrances rather than in them. The evidence indicates that the tunnels cannot accommodate more traffic than the toll plaza can process. Further, the barriers allow traffic to be held back while fuel tankers and other dangerous loads are escorted through. To undertake a proper trial it would be necessary to remove all the toll infrastructure, ie the booths and the steel and concrete protection surrounding them as it would not be safe to allow free-flow traffic to negotiate the narrow lanes past the toll booths.

uk-hansard-lords-written-answers

lordswrans2008-12-09a

"Department for Communities and Local Government\n\nCouncil Housing: Greater London\n\nLord Kennedy (...TRUNCATED)

uk-hansard-lords-written-answers

lordswrans2015-11-05

"Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy\n\nARM: Softbank\n\nLord Myners: To ask Her(...TRUNCATED)

uk-hansard-lords-written-answers

lordswrans2016-08-04